I Finally Found It - My Forever Brownie Recipe

Hi hi! I am just popping in to share this easy homemade brownie recipe with you. I realised recently I only have fun variations on brownie recipes, and recipes which have a brownie base. I didn't have a plain old, easy, back pocket brownie recipe, and that needed to change ASAP. And I promise you, this one is a good one.

I know that there are a bunch of brownie recipes online, all claiming to be the 'best brownie recipe', and while I don't claim this to be the best brownie recipe, it is certainly my best brownie recipe.

To me, perfect brownies should be nice and fudgy rather than cakey, only just baked so that the centre is nice and gooey and the outsides are a little chewy, and be a full chocolate explosion. I know some people are partial to a crinkly top on a brownie so I added that in as a factor when developing this recipe. I've got all the top tips and tricks for you to make super easy homemade brownies.

If you would like a cream cheese brownie version of this recipe, check out my cheesecake brownies recipe!

The secret to a crinkly brownie top

While I am not particularly bothered by whether a brownie has a crinkly top as long as it is a nice texture and tastes good, I know that it is very important to some people, so I wanted to make sure my brownie recipe has a crinkly top, just in case that is important to you.

The way to get a good crinkly top, based on my recipe testing, comes from a mixing technique rather than a specific ingredient ratio or combination. Using chocolate in the recipe can help, but the main secret to the the crinkly flaky brownie top comes from whipping the eggs well with the sugar. I have used this technique in cocoa only brownies to get a shiny top too which is how we know that the whipping of the eggs plays a huge part.

The crinkly top on a brownie comes from dissolving the sugar properly in the egg mixture / in the brownie batter and aerating the egg mixture by whipping the eggs with the sugar for 3-4 minutes. This gets the mixture really light and fluffy, but also gives the sugar a good chance to dissolve in the egg, giving you that super thin, crackly, meringue like topping on top of your brownies.

Top tip - if you want a crinkly top on your brownie, make sure to whip your egg and sugar mixture until it is thick, light, and fluffy.

Testing - does whipping your mixture really make a difference?

If you know me, you know I love a little experiment. So I had to do a quick experiment to really prove how important whipping the mixture for brownies is and how it makes a difference to the crinkly top.

Below you can see two batters - the one on the left I just quickly combined by hand with a whisk, and the one on the right I mixed for the full time as called for in the recipe.

You can see that it really did make a difference - the undermixed batter did not get a nice shiny top on the top of the brownie, which is due to the sugar not being properly dissolved within the mixture to form that nice crackly top on the top of the brownie.

Note that I used Caster sugar in both of these, which is a little finer than regular granulated sugar (especially in NZ), and if you used a larger grained sugar that could also not dissolve properly and have a similar outcome.

Why is Caster sugar used in brownies?

Using caster sugar in brownies also helps to get a super crinkly top. Caster sugar has a smaller grain size than granulated sugar, so it dissolves better in the egg mixture, to give that nice crinkly top.

If you only have granulated sugar on hand it will still work fine particularly if you are in the US. US granulated sugar is typically a lot finer than NZ sugar (from what I have experienced anyway), so will dissolve well in the egg mixture. If you are in NZ and want that crinkly top, caster will work best.

This is another reason why using a scale is so important, as something as insignificant as the grain size of your sugar can throw off a recipe - one cup of finer grained sugar is going to weigh a lot more than a cup of slightly coarser sugar due to how much more of a fine sugar can fit into a cup measure. Grams for the win.

Can Brownies be made without a mixer?

I made these fudgy brownies using a hand mixer. You don't need to use a stand mixer if you don't want to and can just make these in a bowl, but if you want that nice crinkly top on your brownies you will need to mix with an electric mixer of some sort. If you want to make these with just a whisk that should work well too, but you will need to make sure that the mixture is thick and fluffy before adding the chocolate.

How to tell when brownies are done

If you over bake your brownies they won't be as fudgy. It's not the end of the world, but not over baking them is key to that perfect fudgy brownie. You are better off slightly under baking your brownies than over baking.

To tell when brownies are done you can look for a few things:

• The edges of the brownie are slightly firmed up and the surface on the middle of the brownie is set
• When a knife or toothpick is inserted, it comes back with a few fudgy crumbs attached.

This particular brownie recipe puffs up a little in the middle when it bakes and the top might crack slightly as it bakes - don't worry, this sinks back down when you take it out of the oven.

Easy Frosted Brownies

If you would like to finish off these fudgy brownies with a quick and easy brownie icing, you can wait until the brownies are cool, then make my super easy brownie frosting recipe (aka shitty chocolate icing) to add to the top.

Make sure your brownies are at least room temperature (I like to chill mine) so that the brownie frosting does not melt when you add it to the brownies.

Brownies with frosting are a super quick and easy way to fancy up a recipe if you like - making the frosting for brownies takes about five minutes and you can add sprinkles, nuts, whatever you like to the top!

How do you store brownies?

Store brownies in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge, depending on what texture you prefer. Brownies kept in the fridge will be much denser and taste a bit richer than those kept at room temperature.

Brownies will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days and in the fridge for about five days.

Can you freeze brownies?

Yes - these fudgy brownies freeze very well. Once the brownies are cooled and sliced, put into an airtight container lined with parchment paper and freeze in the airtight container.

To defrost brownies, take out and defrost at room temperature before serving.

Best Brownie Recipe Tips

Here are my top tips for making the best brownies:

• Don't skip the salt. It is important in there to help balance out the sugar and chocolate in the recipe. Use less salt if you are using salted butter.
• Use good quality chocolate. This will make a huge difference to the taste and texture of your brownie.
• Try not to over bake your brownie. Check on them after 20 minutes. Mine generally take between 25-27 minutes, but remember that all ovens bake differently.
• Incorporate your dry ingredients with a spatula. Stirring the flour in by hand reduces the chance of over mixing your brownie.
• Whip the egg mixture well. If you are after a crinkly top, don't skip this step. It makes a huge difference.
• Use a metal pan. Glass is a poor conductor of heat.