This is a recipe for those who really want to impress on Valentine’s Day. The brownies take a bit longer to make than our infamous cupcakes. But it’s worth it! They’re rich, indulgent, fudgy with crispy edges and simply phenomenal. Instead of buying some overpriced chocolates, why not give them a go? After all, food is the way to everyone’s heart and what a way to show love our brownies are.
There are four key steps to getting a perfectly fudgy brownie, according to our expert at SeamlessKitchen. Number one is to cook them at a low temperature for a long time – roughly 45 minutes. The second vital step is to leave them in the fridge overnight. This will result in an incredibly dense and fudgy brownie. The third key step is to use dark chocolate as well as cocoa powder – not either or. It has to be both for ultimate flavour and indulgence – especially on Valentine’s Day. Lastly, it’s extremely important that you do not overmix the brownie batter. If you do you will get a chocolate cake – and who wants to eat the brownie’s less loveable cousin? Not us, and definitely not on February 14.
For those who prefer a more gooey centre, they can eat them straight away after cooling. But be careful, they’ll fall apart if you can’t keep your hands away from them before they cool down properly.
There is also a secret magical ingredient that brings out the richness of the brownies. That is… sea salt. The brownies will definitely not be as perfect without it. Sea salt has this amazing ability to bring out flavour of the chocolate, especially if it’s dark. But don’t take our word for it, try it out yourself.
Considering the fact that the brownies taste phenomenal, you’d think that it’s difficult to make them. But you’d be surprised how easy it actually is. The hardest part of the whole recipe is waiting for the brownies to cook, while the smell fills the entire room.
The ingredients and the method for our indulgent brownie are below. But if you want to impress your partner even more on a special occasion, give one of our favourite cooking courses a go. They will teach you a thing or two!
Ingredients (makes 10-16 slices):
300g caster sugar
60g brown sugar
2 eggs
40g cocoa powder
100g flour
150g butter
150g chocolate
¼ tsp sea salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160C. Over low heat, melt the butter in a saucepan then set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, add both sugars to the egg and whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until combined.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, and sea salt to the mixture and gently fold in until the dry ingredients have just disappeared, taking care not to overmix. We’re not making cake here, we’re making miracles.
Transfer the batter to a paper-lined 15cmx15cm ovenproof dish and smear it out evenly. Cook in the centre of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until just set and wobble free.
Leave the brownie to cool and transfer to the fridge once it’s cold enough. Eat the little corner crumb that ‘accidentally’ fell off on the way too.
Leave the brownie to set in the fridge for at least two hours, or overnight if you want seriously dense goodness. Slice it up and dribble.
We’d usually give you a calorie breakdown but who cares about that on Valentine’s Day.