My recipe for easy homemade chocolate brownies that taste absolutely amazing. Includes step-by-step pictures.
I’ve recently been looking back through my recipe index and I realised that there are quite a few basic baking recipes missing that really should be there. To rectify this I’ve decided to go on a bit of a mission to fill the gaps.
Today’s recipe is a classic chocolate brownie recipe which is easy to make. It gives you delicious brownies that are crisp on top and gooey on the inside. They’re a family favourite and Daniel (my 7 year old) told me if they sold these in coffee shops then it would be all he’d ever order 🙂
What’s the secret to perfect chocolate brownies
I think the most important step in creating perfect chocolate brownies is making sure the egg and sugar mixture are whisked enough that they thicken before you fold in the chocolate (step 3 in the recipe). This is what gives the brownies their distinctive crispy top. It’s almost like a thin layer of chocolatey meringue above the gooey brownie centre.
Another important tip is to ensure that you don’t over-bake the brownies. You want to take them out of the oven when the edges are just starting to pull in from the sides of the tin. If you insert a skewer it should have a few crumbs sticking to it (unlike cake where you want it to come out clean). Don’t worry if you do accidentally overcook them, you’ll have delicious chocolate cake slices instead!
My final tip for brownie success is to let them cool in the tin. The brownies are very soft when they first come out of the oven and if you try and remove them too soon you may well find that they crumble. Leaving them for an hour or so to cool before removing them will allow them to firm up.
Introducing step-by-step images for my recipes
I recently did a poll on my Instagram stories asking whether people like to see step-by-step pictures on recipes and the overwhelming response was “Yes”. I listened and I’ve added some extra images to the recipe to show what everything should look like at each stage.
I’d love to know what you think… helpful? not helpful? are there other images you think it would be useful to see?
Let me know in the comments.
If they’re something you’re all finding useful then I’ll look to add them to more of my recipes in future.
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Easy Chocolate Brownies
INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium eggs
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 200 g milk chocolate
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 100 g self-raising flour
- 250 g soft light brown sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan. Line a 20x30cm baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Melt your butter (200g) and milk chocolate (200g). I prefer to melt mine in a saucepan over a very low heat, stirring constantly to ensure that it doesn’t burn and the butter and chocolate combine. Alternatively you can also melt them in the microwave (about 1½-2 minutes) or using a bain marie. Once your butter and chocolate have melted pour them into a different bowl to cool. They must be fully cooled before they are added to the other ingredients.
- Whisk your eggs (3 medium eggs) until they are pale in colour. Add the soft light brown sugar (250g) and whisk until the eggs and sugar are fully combined and have thickened (you’ll know they’re ready when you lift out the whisk and the drips leave a trail that takes a few moments to disappear).
- Add the chocolate and butter mixture (it must be cooled!) and fold it into the egg mixture taking care not to knock out the air.
- Sift your self-raising flour (100g) and cocoa powder (30g) into the mixture and fold everything together. Stop folding as soon as they are combined to avoid overmixing.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and smooth with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.
- Cook for 30-35 minutes until the edges of the brownies are just starting to come away from the sides of the tin.
- Remove your brownies from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Once cool remove them from the tin and cut them into 12 pieces (or 48 pieces if you’re making mini brownies). You can trim the edges if you want them a bit neater.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Fish-Free
- Crustacean-Free
- Mollusc-Free
- Celery-Free
- Mustard-Free
- Lupin-Free
Imogen says
Beautiful! Came out perfectly.
Catie says
Amazing chocolate brownies. Very easy to make. Took 45-50 minutes of cooking time though, but worth it!
Nora says
Ooooooohhhhh these are amazing!!!! Charlotte, I’ve followed a few of your recipes and I have to say, you didn’t disappoint, again. These are my lock down Brownies… I can’t wait to post the photos on the family WhatsApp group to make them really jealous. Thank you x❤️X
Claire says
I made these today and followed the recipe and method exactly and they are lush! They are the right brownie texture and taste delicious. This is the first time I’ve made brownies so I’m really happy. I dusted icing sugar on top of mine just because I like the way they look. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe!
Dana S says
I would give it no stars if I could. Worst brownies I’ve ever made or eaten. Followed the recipe to the dot and still ended up with a tray of muck. Sorry but I won’t even attempt to make these again
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that the brownies didn’t turn out as expected. I’ve made these many times and they’ve always turned out perfectly, as have others, so I’m disappointed you didn’t get the same result. Can you describe to me what the result was (was it underbaked, tasted bad?) so I can see if there’s anything in the recipe I can make clearer to ensure everyone gets better results in future.
Jasmine Walton says
This is an amazing recipe!! I love brownies and these ones are fabulous!! Have made them about 3 times and deffo will be making more in the near future!!
Hayden says
This recipe was really good knowing that it did not have plain flour in
Nerys says
Fantastic recipe, I even substituted the sugar for normal white, and it was perfect. I added kit kats to my first batch and jaffa cakes to my second. Both turned out perfect. They do take longer than stated though.
Charlotte Oates says
I love the idea of both kits kats and Jaffa cakes! How long did you have to bake them for?
Abigail says
Utterly fab. Your recipe result went down a treat with my library colleagues. About to treat them again for my birthday! Thankyou for sharing your recipe, Charlotte!
Himanshu says
This is a wonderful recipe and fun to make with kids. We just tried it and came out a winner.
Thanks a ton for sharing this recipe and the tips to make this toothsome recipe. Kids just devoured it.
5 star all the way.
S Young says
The best Brownie recipe that I’ve ever tried. The inside is light and moistt plus the top has a great combinatoln of crust & chewiness. I tend to make 2 batches as the family eat it as soon as it’s out of the oven. I find though that it takes 10 to 16 minutes longer to cook than the instructions state as otherwise it’s still runny inside.
AnneK says
Can I use gluten free flour?
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tried it, but it should work just fine.
Helen Reed says
Seems a very good recipe. Not sure about cooking time as top was lovely and crusty but centre looks a bit dense but will see how they turn out on cooling. Not sure if I will get 12 squares as the centre sinks a bit and there is a crust all around the outside (which either me or my children will polish off).
Michelle Brown says
This is it! Finally found the perfect Brownies recipe! Thanks so much for sharing this. Winner on many counts!
Janet Tomlinson says
Been looking for a good brownie recipe for ages. This was very easy to make and tasted delicious.. Made some for my grandaughter, she took them to school to share with her friends who thoroughly enjoyed them. Came back with an empty tin!!
nazz says
hi can i use margerine or a spread instead of butter
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried them with marg but they should work fine.
Christine Macleod says
I made these yesterday for an outing today and the box came back empty. My son said they were Brownie-licious. I am not a chocolate brownie fan but I will be making them again, a definite winner with me and everyone else.
Jazel says
Hi Charlotte! I made the brownies today but they seem a bit greasy. Is there a reason for that? Was the butter mixture not folded in enough?
Charlotte Oates says
I’m not too sure as I’ve not had that problem. It may well be that the butter was the problem as it may “leak out” during cooking if it hasn’t been combined fully.
Nazneen shah says
I tried this recipe, I love it. For the first time I tried a a recipe that came out like it described. Chewy in the middle and nice meringue crust.
Only thing which I will alter is reducing the sugar a bit – for me it was too sweet. Either than that was yum!
Jemma Smart says
Want to give these a go, they look so good! Quick question though – will using large eggs make much of a difference?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it with large eggs but the recipe should work. If you want to be completely confident then crack 3 eggs into a separate bowl, beat lightly to mix the white and the yolk and then weight out 150g to use in the brownies.
Jemma Smart says
Great thank you, I’ll give it a go!
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Clara. I’m glad you found the pictures useful.