Everyday brownies

Votes: 16

It's not that I needed another brownie recipe. For years, I've been making them on autopilot, but I'm still grateful for this simple, everyday option. They're less extravagant—I use cocoa powder instead of good-quality chocolate and add a bar or two of milk chocolate from the nearest kiosk or store to the batter. Although, if you tasted them, you'd never know it. The brownies are soft, an elegant dark color, and richly chocolatey.

This is the recipe to use when a child or coworker reminds you at the last minute about the fair the next day. You'll simply smile nonchalantly and head to the buffet. If you're even more limited in your options—for example, you don't have light brown sugar and can't get to the nearest chocolate store—just use 1.5 cups of regular white sugar, 165 grams of butter, and 1 heaping cup of cocoa.

One last piece of advice, or rather, a word of caution: when I say "cocoa powder," I mean unsweetened cocoa; do not, under any circumstances, substitute it for hot chocolate powder.

Time: 40 min.
Complexity: easily
Quantity: 16 chocolate cakes

I like these brownies really warm. But I also like them cold. In fact, when they're cold, they're more like brownies: gooey inside and springy on top.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

140 g (10 tbsp) butter
1 and 3/4 cups brown sugar (packed firmly)
3/4 cup sifted cocoa powder
1 cup premium wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
A pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
About 170g milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces (or 1 cup chips)
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Additional equipment: A foil-lined baking dish or foil pan, approximately 33 x 23 x 5 cm.

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: premium flour, eggs, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, brown sugar, milk chocolate, cocoa

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Preheat oven to 190°C.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once melted, add the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon (still over low heat) until combined with the melted butter.
Combine cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and a pinch of salt, sift the ingredients into a saucepan and, once combined (at this stage you will have a very dry mixture, not completely smooth), remove the saucepan from the heat.

In a bowl or pitcher, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract, then stir them into the batter in the saucepan.

Add the chopped chocolate and quickly transfer the batter, scraping down the edges, to a foil-lined baking pan. Smooth the mixture with a spatula and bake in a preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes.

The brownie should look dense, dark, and dry on top, but when you touch the surface, it should be gelatinous inside, and a tester should come out with bits of wet dough. That's what you want.
Place the pan on a wire rack to cool, then cut the cake into 16 bars and dust them with powdered sugar.

Culinary advice: These brownies can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen in an airtight container, lined with parchment paper, for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in a cool place.