This is the BEST (& also the Easiest) Brownie recipe you’ll ever need.
Let’s be honest, I could very easily tell everyone that the reason I got into this profession is because there’s nothing quite like this one very specific pastry I've had in Paris/Italy/London/during my travels.
But, at Blanchette, I decided that this would not be the reason I created our desserts.
I initially started baking only because I was looking for one of those ridiculous chocolate cakes. You know the one. Moist sponge, with the cocoa flavour shining through and a ganache that actually tasted like pure chocolate and not one of those synthetic-y products we used to get. I was too young to be ambitious enough to bake this cake for myself, which is why I started fiddling with a brownie recipe mumma gave me and came to a conclusion that this is the only brownie that would ever meet my standards.
With baking, it’s always the small things that really matter, the perfectly crispy and yet chewy chocolate chip cookie (fresh out of the oven ofc), warm Madeline's, the perfect, moist chocolate cake (more on that later) and in this case, a brownie. Crisp from the edges, fudgy from the centre, and overwhelming with chocolate.
Team cakey brownie, pls leave. This post ends here for you.
The beauty of this recipe is that it gives you the brownies that dreams are made of, not overly sweet, hints of salt, crisp from the edges and moist and practically fudge from the center.
Tips to make sure you bake the best brownie:
The better the chocolate, the better the brownie: Please use baking chocolate bars (Couverture chocolate, if you can?) as opposed to chocolate chips. They really don’t melt that easily, nor do they give you that rich chocolate flavor. And honestly, you only deserve the very best.
Pull them out of the oven early: Moist and extra fudgey brownies are great, dry ones are not. Its only ready when you insert a knife/toothpick and it comes out with a couple of crumbs attached. Any more and its dry, any less and its underbaked. Please also remember, it cooks as it cools too!
Every oven has its own personality: I would give you an approximate time at which you would have to remove the brownies, but can take 5 minutes more/less, depending on your oven. If you’re a regular baker, please invest in an oven thermometer; it's a game changer.
Always weigh your ingredients: The only one this that is non-negotiable in terms of equipment is a weighing scale. It’s the only thing that ensures that any product you make is standardized. Measuring cups, as much as they try can never give you the same product every time you bake it.
Let them cool: I'm one of those people who has zero patience and eats brownies warm, right out of the pan. But all these batches I've made have taught me that a brownie tastes like it should only after it cools (ooooh and it cuts better too).
The Equipment
8 inch square pan
Parchment Paper
Large bowls
Whisk (We prefer hand mixers or stand mixer though)
Spatula
So without further delay, please find below the actual recipe.
The Best Brownie Ever
The Ingredients
200g castor sugar
2 eggs
100g cocoa
113g butter, melted
80g dark chocolate, melted
60g flour
1 teaspoon (2g) sea salt
40g dark chocolate, chopped
40g milk chocolate, chopped
Roasted Walnuts (optional)
The Directions
Preheat the oven at 160°C.
Grease and line an 8 inch square cake pan with parchment paper.
Melt the butter, allow it to come to room temperature.
Sift together cocoa, and the flour.
Whisk together the egg and the sugar until fluffy and pale in colour, this should take about 5 minutes.
Add the (crushed) sea salt.
Fold the mixed, dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
Fold in the melted butter and chocolate.
Add both the chopped chocolates and any additional toppings you would like.
Pour into the lined cake pan, bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Or until a knife comes out mostly clean (with very little crumbs on it).
Allow to cool and remove from the pan. Cut into squares.
Enjoy!
(If you're feeling particularly lazy, we always suggest just purchasing our Sourdough and Almond Flour brownies instead.)