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
Tracy says
Could I add chocolate chips please
Charlotte Oates says
Yes
Christina says
Absolutely delicious Can I use white chocolate in stead of milk and leave out the cocoa powder to make blondies?
Charlotte Oates says
It’s not something I’ve tested so I’m not sure how well it would work – sorry.
Wanda says
Fabulous melt in the mouth brownies. Perfect recipe! My granddaughter and I had so much fun baking them. The hour after taking them out of the oven to cool sent all the children crazy with anticipation and not a crumb left. Thanks for another wonderful recipe. It gives me a break from the most favourite lemon cheesecake.
Mrs Tara Whitmarsh says
I love this recipe. I use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate and only 100g of sugar.
I also add white, dark and milk chocolate chips. 🙂
Thank you
Charlotte Neeves says
Hi Charlotte I absolutely love this recipe your recipes all taste amazing but just wanted to know if if you could freeze the brownies thank you
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t actually tried it, but they should be fine.
Lauren says
Hi I have used your recipe many times and think it’s great. My partners is asking for me to make aero mint brownies now so was wondering what the ingredients would be and if it would be any different and if so what would it be? Thanks so much. Lauren
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t made them so I’ve no idea exactly how this would turn out, but if I were to give it a go, I’d simply sprinkle those mint Aero balls (or broken pieces) over the top of the brownie mixture before baking. If you want to ramp up the mint flavour, you could also add 1 tsp of peppermint extract to the brownie mixture too.
Penny says
Can I use white chocolate as well?
Charlotte Oates says
You can substitute some of the milk chocolate for white if you’d like to, or you could add some white chocolate chips to the mixture.
Maria says
Wow. Another great recipe Charlotte. I can’t believe I can bake now with all your fab recipes. I have grown in confidence and love baking with my children and my hubby loves it too.
This recipe was really easy and yummy! I put the flour in before the chocolate and butter (distracted with my little helpers!) but still came out well.
Just need to stop everyone eating them in one go!!!
Isabel says
I have always said I can cook but I can’t bake. Everything I have ever tried has ended in disaster. However during lockdown I started making your brownies, which have only ever come out perfectly and so we moved on to various other of your recipes and suddenly I can bake! I have even made two very edible (not burnt, not soggy, just right) birthday cakes using your recipes!! Thank you Charlotte!
Alpana says
I always use this recipe as they turn out great. Never looked at another recipe for brownies. Awesome
Sarah Goddard says
This is the third time I have made these and each batch have been delicious – a much nicer flavour than shop bought and I love the goey texture. I use dark chocolate and reduce the sugar to 200g.
May says
This was a great recipe – first time making brownies in several years and these were delicious. I swapped the milk chocolate suggested for 180g of dark chocolate and used 5g less of the cocoa powder – they came out great. Rich and fudgy and not too cakey or rich. Great with cream and red berries. Thank you for sharing!
Lisa says
It turned out more like a cake than brownies for me. Not sure what I did wrong.
Charlotte Oates says
It sounds as though they were over-bake (the longer brownies are baked for, the more cakey and less fudgey they are). It may be that your oven runs a little hotter or operates in a way that means cooking temperature/time needs to be reduced a little.
imogen says
could someone help me? i’ve made these a few times, and they always turn out really tasty! however, in my oven they usually take around 45 minutes to cook and i always end up burning the edges because the middle takes a lot longer for me. i was wondering if anyone could give me tips on how to stop the edges burning but still properly cook the middle?
Charlotte Oates says
I would wrap tin foil loosely around the edges of the tin and the bend it inwards a little. This should help protect the edges whilst allowing the liddle to cook thoroughly.
SC says
I made these and they were incredible. Thank you for the recipe! The advice about getting a crispy top was spot on. The only problem is wanting to eat too many, knowing how unhealthy brownies are!
Shaz says
Fab, agree with all the praise. Thank you for another winner, Charlotte. Just took a bit longer in my oven but lovely chocolately, crunchy and chewy at the same time!
Danielle says
WOW, I made these for my family, even though I’m not a fan of brownies as I find then dry, however my husband said I must try them. What can I say, they were lovely and gooey and not like brownies I’ve had in the past. I did had some mini
Cadbury creme eggs before I baked the brownie, as I was trying to use up the remaining Easter Eggs. The only thing I would do different next time, is not grease the greaseproof paper, you didn’t say if you had to or not, but I did and it made the bottom of the brownie a bit too buttery.
Can’t wait to try some more recipes.
Nicola Symons says
Made these and they were amazing! Going to try them adding some marshmallows and also some with Oreos x
Ann-Marie Harlow says
Excellent recipe. Came out perfect x
Tracey Ball says
Charlotte, could you use plain chocolate as opposed to Milk?? TIA
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, they’ll just have a slightly deeper, richer chocolate flavour.