I have to say these are the most delicious homemade brownies I have ever eaten. Don't believe me? Make them for yourself! Hardly any ingredients are used and hardly any utensils either which saves on the washing up afterwards! Wanna make this scrummy recipe for yourself?
All you need is:
Unsalted butter - 150g
Caster sugar - 280g
Cocoa powder - 90g
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Large eggs - 2 (or 3 small-medium eggs)
Vanilla extract or essence - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Plain white flour - 100g
Dark or milk chocolate - about 100g but you can have as much or as little as you want depending on how chunky you want your brownies to be
First set your oven to 170oC. Then line a baking tin using greaseproof paper and melted butter. Just remember that the larger your tin, the thinner your brownies will be so I suggest an 8-inch square tin for an appropriate thickness.
Then measure out 150g of unsalted butter (it will be in a block) and cut into small cubes then add to a medium sized pan. Place the pan on the heat and continuously stir the butter until it has all melted and there are quite a few bubbles but take care not to burn it!
Remove the pan from the heat and add 280g of caster sugar (that is a lot of sugar! Hence why brownies should be a rarity!) and stir. Then add 90g of cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir thoroughly.
Measure out 100g of flour but don't add this to the mixture just yet. Instead, add the eggs one by one along with a tablespoon of the flour you have just measured out. This stops the eggs from curdling and beat vigorously after each addition.
When the mixture has been fully mixed and it looks glossy, add the remaining flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or essence (I'm not too sure what the difference is really! Do you know?) and mix. This takes some time and requires a fair bit of elbow grease and should be done carefully or the flour will go everywhere!
Once it is all mixed, it should be of quite thick consistency but it is still able to run. If it is more like a solid mass (which I experienced the last time I made it!) crack another egg into a separate bowl and whisk it and then add to the mixture bit by bit until the mixture is more runny and you are happy with the consistency.
Then break up your chocolate into chunks (you could also use chocolate chips, nuts and cherries) and add to the mixture and fold it in.
Then add all the mixture into your lined tin and spread it out into an even layer. It is now ready to go into the oven!
Check your brownies after 20 minutes by putting a knife into your brownies and seeing if there is any uncooked mixture left on the knife when you take it out. It is okay for there to be a little bit of mixture on the knife as brownies should be taken out at this point so that the brownies are soft when they are cool. However, if a lot of mixture sticks to the knife, put it back into the oven and keep checking every 2 minutes until you think they are cooked. Allow to fully cool before cutting as cutting them when they are still warm makes them fall apart (as I experienced!).
Cut them into as big or as small a square you want and tuck in! Perfect with a cup of tea in my opinion! And all of this for under a tenner? Plus you'll have ingredients left over for next time or for other bakes so it is perfect if you're on a budget!
Do you know a good brownie recipe? Are you going to attempt this recipe? If you have attempted this recipe, how did you find them?