Classic Chocolate Brownie

My kids love brownies – but not just any type of brownie. It needs to have the perfect crust (they call it a crunchy top) and should be chewy and a little gooey inside (not like a cake at all). I have had many “failed” attempts at making brownies as per them. If it doesn’t have the crust on top or the gooey center, they don’t consider it a success!!!

After multiple trials and different recipes, I was finally able to nail one recipe, which has given me consistent results. But to make sure they have the chewy centers, I really have to keep a very close eye on the baking time. Since the baking time may differ from oven to oven, make sure you go through the points listed below to keep in mind while making these utterly delicious brownies!

Few things to keep in mind

• Baking of Brownies: Your brownies are done if a skewer inserted comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it. If the skewer has wet batter sticking to it, then it need to go in for another couple of min. If it comes out clean (which is the usual test for checking the doneness of a cake), then its over-baked. This means that the chewy, gooey texture will be missing and it will be closer to a cake texture.
• Using chocolate chips or chopped chocolate: The recipe calls for chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate (the cooking/baking chocolate variety) to be added towards the end. You can skip this and increase the quantity of sugar. However, addition of chocolate chips/chocolate chunks really makes the brownies much better and of course more “chocolatey”! So if you ask me, don’t skip this..:)
• Mixing the batter: Use a whisk to mix the eggs and sugar. The rest of the batter can be mixed with a spoon or a spatula. Take care not to over-mix the batter.
• Sugar: I prefer using castor sugar for this recipe. If you do not have castor sugar, you can pulse the normal granulated sugar in a mixer for a couple of times till the grains are finer, but the sugar isn’t powdered. You can also use half white and half brown sugar for this recipe.

Recipe

Ingredient List

• Semi-sweet Chocolate (Cooking / Baking variety) – 100 gms, roughly chopped
• Butter – 1/2 cup or 100 gms, melted
• All Purpose Flour – 3/4th cup or 100 gms
• Cocoa Powder – 1/4th cup or 20 gms
• Salt – 1/4th tsp
• Eggs – 2, at room temperature
• Sugar – 3/4th cup or 150 gms (See notes above)
• Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp or 5 ml
• Chocolate chips or roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate – 1/4th cup or 50 gms (See recipe notes above. In case you are skipping this ingredient, increase the quantity of sugar to 1 cup or 200 gms)

Step by Step Process

1. Grease and line an 8 inch square tin with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 170 deg C.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in a microwave and mix well to combine. Stir well to ensure the chocolate is fully melted and it’s the consistency of a smooth sauce.
3. Sieve together flour (keeping a tbsp aside), cocoa powder and salt and keep aside.
4. In a separate bowl, add the eggs and sugar and whisk well till light.
5. Add the melted chocolate mix to this along with the vanilla essence. Mix well with a spoon or spatula til well combined.
6. Next, add the sieved flour, cocoa powder and salt and mix till just combined.
7. Dust the chocolate chips or the semi-sweet chocolate chunks with the 1 tbsp of flour kept aside, such that they are thoroughly coated. This will ensure that the chocolate chips or chunks don’t settle to the bottom when baked.
8. Mix in the dusted chocolate to the brownie mixture and mix till just combined.
9. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30 min first. Insert a skewer in the center and if the skewer comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it, but no moist batter sticking, then the brownies are ready.
10. If not, bake for another couple of min before checking. If you leave the brownies for more time, they will become dry and will no longer have the fudgy and chewy texture. (See notes above).
11. Leave it to cool properly before cutting them into the desired size. Drizzle some chocolate ganache sauce on top and enjoy! (Check recipe: https://foodtokwithsherin.wordpress.com/2020/02/22/chocolate-ganache-sauce/)