The Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.
• In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
• To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons softened butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Stir until smooth. Frost brownies while they are still warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line one 9x9-inch baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Remove mixture from heat. Gradually pour the melted butter into the beaten eggs, whisking constantly, until mixture is fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla.
• Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in the walnuts. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until brownies are set (a toothpick inserted in the center should have small crumbs clinging to it, rather than wet batter), 45 to 50 minutes. Do not overbake!

Steps:

• Cut 185g unsalted butter into small cubes and tip into a medium bowl. Break 185g dark chocolate into small pieces and drop into the bowl.
• Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them.
• Remove the bowl from the pan. Alternatively, cover the bowl loosely with cling film and put in the microwave for 2 minutes on High. Leave the melted mixture to cool to room temperature.
• While you wait for the chocolate to cool, position a shelf in the middle of your oven and turn the oven on to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base. Tip 85g plain flour and 40g cocoa powder into a sieve held over a medium bowl. Tap and shake the sieve so they run through together and you get rid of any lumps.
• Chop 50g white chocolate and 50g milk chocolate into chunks on a board.
• Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar. They will look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes, depending on how powerful your mixer is. You'll know it's ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume. Another check is to turn off the mixer, lift out the beaters and wiggle them from side to side. If the mixture that runs off the beaters leaves a trail on the surface of the mixture in the bowl for a second or two, you're there.
• Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Plunge the spatula in at one side, take it underneath and bring it up the opposite side and in again at the middle. Continue going under and over in a figure of eight, moving the bowl round after each folding so you can get at it from all sides, until the two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown. The idea is to marry them without knocking out the air, so be as gentle and slow as you like.
• Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly.
• Gently fold in this powder using the same figure of eight action as before. The mixture will look dry and dusty at first, and a bit unpromising, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end up looking gungy and fudgy. Stop just before you feel you should, as you don't want to overdo this mixing.
• Finally, stir in the white and milk chocolate chunks until they're dotted throughout.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and paddle the spatula from side to side across the top to level it.
• Put in the oven and set your timer for 25 mins. When the buzzer goes, open the oven, pull the shelf out a bit and gently shake the tin. If the brownie wobbles in the middle, it's not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes until the top has a shiny, papery crust and the sides are just beginning to come away from the tin. Take out of the oven.
• Leave the whole thing in the tin until completely cold, then, if you're using the brownie tin, lift up the protruding rim slightly and slide the uncut brownie out on its base. If you're using a normal tin, lift out the brownie with the foil. Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into four squares and finally into triangles.
• They'll keep in an airtight container for a good two weeks and in the freezer for up to a month.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda; blend 1/3 cup melted butter. Add boiling water; stir until well blended. Stir in sugar, eggs and remaining butter. Add flour, vanilla and salt. Stir in pecans and chocolate chunks. , Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool.

Steps:

• Set oven to 350°F.
• Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl combine cocoa and baking powder; mix to combine.
• Add in boiling water; mix well with a wooden spoon to combine.
• Add in the melted butter and vanilla; mix well.
• Add in the sugar, mix well with a wooden spoon.
• Stir in eggs with a wooden spoon; mix until combined.
• Mix the flour with salt; add in the chocolate mixture; mix well to combine (batter will be a bit on the thin side).
• Add/mix in mini chocolate chips or walnuts (or 1 cup of both!).
• Using an ice cream scoop fill each of the muffin tins almost to the top.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are done, don't over bake! (might take a little longer, depending on how full the muffin tins are with the batter).
• Cool, drizzle glaze over or frost with buttercream frosting.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gasmark 6.
• Melt the chocolate and butter together over hot water (can be melted in the microwave if you're in a hurry).
• Beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract/paste, add to the melted chocolate and butter, mix.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder, then fold into the rest of the mix.
• Add the chopped white chocolate pieces and pour into a lined and greased baking tray.
• Cook for 22 minutes (the knife should come out clean when cooked), allow to cool, cut into 12 and serve.