Best-ever brownies
See this recipe step by step

Best-ever brownies

A foolproof recipe for squidgy cake squares, studded with extra chunks of chocolate for extra decadence

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 16 squares or 32 triangles

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1 hour, inc cooling (worth every minute)

Method

  1. Cut 185g unsalted butter into smallish cubes and tip into a medium bowl. Break 185g best dark chocolate into small pieces and drop into the bowl. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them. Now remove the bowl from the pan. Alternatively, cover the bowl loosely with cling film and put in the microwave for 2 minutes on High. Leave the melted mixture to cool to room temperature.
  2. While you wait for the chocolate to cool, position a shelf in the middle of your oven and turn the oven on to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4 (most ovens take 10-15 minutes to heat up). Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base. Now tip 85g plain flour and 40g cocoa powder into a sieve held over a medium bowl, and tap and shake the sieve so they run through together and you get rid of any lumps.
  3. With a large sharp knife, chop 50g white chocolate and 50g milk chocolate into chunks on a board. The slabs of chocolate will be quite hard, so the safest way to do this is to hold the knife over the chocolate and press the tip down on the board, then bring the rest of the blade down across the chocolate. Keep on doing this, moving the knife across the chocolate to chop it into pieces, then turn the board round 90 degrees and again work across the chocolate so you end up with rough squares.
  4. Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes, depending on how powerful your mixer is, so don't lose heart. You'll know it's ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume. Another check is to turn off the mixer, lift out the beaters and wiggle them from side to side. If the mixture that runs off the beaters leaves a trail on the surface of the mixture in the bowl for a second or two, you're there.
  5. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Plunge the spatula in at one side, take it underneath and bring it up the opposite side and in again at the middle. Continue going under and over in a figure of eight, moving the bowl round after each folding so you can get at it from all sides, until the two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown. The idea is to marry them without knocking out the air, so be as gentle and slow as you like - you don't want to undo all the work you did in step 4.
  6. Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold in this powder using the same figure of eight action as before. The mixture will look dry and dusty at first, and a bit unpromising, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end up looking gungy and fudgy. Stop just before you feel you should, as you don't want to overdo this mixing. Finally, stir in the white and milk chocolate chunks until they're dotted throughout. Now your mixing is done and the oven can take over.
  7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and paddle the spatula from side to side across the top to level it. Put in the oven and set your timer for 25 minutes. When the buzzer goes, open the oven, pull the shelf out a bit and gently shake the tin. If the brownie wobbles in the middle, it's not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes until the top has a shiny, papery crust and the sides are just beginning to come away from the tin. Take out of the oven.
  8. Leave the whole thing in the tin until completely cold, then, if you're using the brownie tin, lift up the protruding rim slightly and slide the uncut brownie out on its base. If you're using a normal tin, lift out the brownie with the foil. Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into four squares and finally into triangles. These brownies are so addictive you'll want to make a second batch before the first is finished, but if you want to make some to hide away for a special occasion, it's useful to know that they'll keep in an airtight container for a good two weeks and in the freezer for up to a month.
Try

Not quite what you're looking for?

Try our lower fat option, Ultimate makeover: Chocolate brownies, or other popular brownie recipes, Fudgy coconut brownies or Marbled brownies.

Per triangle

144 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 17g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 0.5g, sugar 14g, salt 0.06 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2003.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 401-420

  • Binder photo Luke

    06 March 2011

    Luke rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Easy to follow and tasted great. Great guide for my first time brownie baking.

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  • Binder photo Littlewrigglers

    09 March 2011

    Littlewrigglers rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    mmmmm, yummy yum yum! The only thing is that we ate them far too quickly!

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  • Binder photo stephaniemackay

    10 March 2011

    stephaniemackay rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    love brownies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • Binder photo Billie

    12 March 2011

    Billie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Absolutely the best brownies ever!! Have made these several times now for work and family, even my sister loves them and she doesn't like chocolate cakes. Easy to prepare, I have to leave in a little longer, but then thats probably due to my oven, but the end result, slightly soft gooey middle with a lovely crisp top, gorgeous. I also use mainly milk chocolate for this as not all people like the plain choc and find it a bit too rich, But the milk chocolate works a treat :-)

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  • Binder photo Mag1c888

    16 March 2011

    Mag1c888 commented on this recipe

    These are absolutely AMAZING (especially with cream and/or ice cream)

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  • Binder photo Magenta

    18 March 2011

    Magenta rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've made these brownies so many times now I thought that it was only fair that I rated them and left a comment! They really are absolutely amazing. Every time I make them I get people raving about how fantastic they are and wanting me to make them again. They are quite a bit of effort to make and it definitely helps if you have a dishwasher as you need three or four different bowls plus various other utensils, but it's totally worth it!

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  • Binder photo Dasha

    19 March 2011

    Dasha rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My family totally loved these! And it is true, that second day they are even better ;)

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  • Binder photo Mini-Chef

    20 March 2011

    Mini-Chef rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    they are wonderful, as in the name they are the best ever brownies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • Binder photo Olya

    22 March 2011

    Olya rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    They are absolutely divine! Best-ever! X

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  • Binder photo hannahcr

    23 March 2011

    hannahcr commented on this recipe

    These certainly live up to their name! They're perfectly fudgy inside, and so rich. I made them for friends and now every time they come round they ask if I've made any more! Definitely the best brownie recipe I've tried, although I do bake them for a little longer than stated because the first time they were too gooey.

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  • Binder photo Jessica18

    23 March 2011

    Jessica18 commented on this recipe

    Absolutely delicious ! ... I've made these so many times now and have somehow managed to hook my entire family on them :) they are so moist and chocolaty.. a real winner!

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  • Binder photo Jessica18

    23 March 2011

    Jessica18 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    oops, forgot to rate :)

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  • Binder photo Stacey

    26 March 2011

    Stacey commented on this recipe

    I made WHITE CHOCOLATE brownies, using this recipe but swapping the dark and white chocolate amounts, and substituting the cocoa for white drinking chocolate. In the oven now, waiting to see how they taste! The batter was YUMMY! :)

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  • Binder photo Ineke

    26 March 2011

    Ineke rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Always goes down a storm, it's perfect!

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  • Binder photo Beany

    26 March 2011

    Beany rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Easy to make and thoroughly delicious

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  • Binder photo Mrs H

    30 March 2011

    Mrs H rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    It's best to make these just before bed so that you are not as tempted to eat them before they have completely cooled in the tin. This is what I did, and I cut them up into squares the next morning before work. The only trouble was that I couldn't stop thinking about them all day, but oh yes! they were definately worth the wait. What a treat! Mine took 40 minutes. I'm sure that if I had tried cutting them whilst they were still warm that they would have fallen apart - so please, be patient and WAIT. Trust me you will not regret it one bit!

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  • Binder photo Kay

    04 April 2011

    Kay rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have made these brownies since they first appeared in GF years ago, and always get requests for them at birthdays, parties, weekends and camping trips away, my secret is add about 1 tbs of almond liquor into the cooled chocolate mix and cook for about 30 -35 mins, it really makes the flavour develop!

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  • Binder photo blythey

    04 April 2011

    blythey rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    absoloutley delicious, very goo-ey and rich, my friends love them! I would definatley reccomend these, especially for entertaining. :)

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  • Binder photo nomes

    05 April 2011

    nomes rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo RClure

    11 April 2011

    RClure rated this recipe

    4 stars

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Cuts into 16 squares or 32 triangles

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1 hour, inc cooling (worth every minute)

Chocoholics' dream

Ingredients

  • 185g unsalted butter
  • 185g best dark chocolate
  • 85g plain flour
  • 40g cocoa powder
  • 50g white chocolate
  • 50g milk chocolate
  • 3 large eggs
  • 275g golden caster sugar
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Per triangle

144 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 17g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 0.5g, sugar 14g, salt 0.06 g

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