"Best" Brownies from scratch -

brownies 1

I was on the hunt for a truly fudgy brownie recipe this weekend. Strangely enough, I’ve never quite managed to get that perfect brownie at home – moist, dense, and fudgy, with that delicate crusty top. The only times I’ve really succeeded were with boxed mixes. Every attempt I made from scratch somehow ended up tasting more like chocolate cake, which, as we all know, is just not the same.

A brownie is a brownie, and a cake is a cake. And while a boxed brownie is different from one made entirely from scratch, I probably wouldn’t have said that five years ago. These days, I’m trying to be a bit more health-conscious. Less processed food, fewer ready-made mixes. Call it whatever you want. These brownies are still fairly sinful, so I’m not being pretentious about it. But once you start experimenting with baking from scratch, it really does open up a whole new world and raises the bar significantly. For a long time, though, the perfect from-scratch brownie remained elusive for me.

That changed when I came across this recipe on Allrecipes, confidently titled “Best Brownies.” The recipe and video instructions were simple and easy to follow, which finally convinced me to try it. The results spoke for themselves. Out of the 16 brownies I baked on Saturday for my son and his friend, only three were left by Sunday morning and one of those disappeared at breakfast. That alone says enough.

“Best brownies” indeed, at least among all the recipes I’ve tried so far. I made a few small tweaks, using a mix of organic plain and wholemeal flour, raw cacao powder instead of regular cocoa powder, muscovado sugar instead of white sugar, and powdered demerara sugar for the frosting. I’m trying to make them as healthy as brownies can reasonably be.

These brownies aren’t vegan, as I used butter and eggs. That said, I’m fairly confident that substituting applesauce for butter and flaxseed meal for eggs would work well. I plan to try a vegan version next weekend and will report back.

Note on flax egg substitute:
Grind flaxseeds into a fine powder. For one egg, mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water and beat well by hand or in a blender until frothy. Double the quantities if replacing two eggs, and add this mixture directly to the batter.

I also used my own frosting recipe instead of the one provided in the original link.

Ingredients

Brownies

½ cup organic unsalted butter
1 cup muscovado sugar (palm or coconut sugar also works)
½ cup flour (a mix of organic all-purpose and wholemeal, or use just one type)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
⅓ cup raw cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp organic natural baking powder

Frosting

¼ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar or powdered demerara sugar
⅛ cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cream, or 2 tbsp milk or almond milk

Method

Step-by-Step With Images

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Place the butter in a microwave-safe glass bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, until completely melted.

2. Add the muscovado sugar to the melted butter and mix well using a hand beater.

3. Add the eggs and beat thoroughly until the mixture becomes smooth and uniform.

4. Add the raw cacao powder and mix again until fully incorporated.

5. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing the foil to overhang on the sides. This makes removing the brownies much easier later.

6. Pour the prepared brownie batter evenly into the pan.

7. Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 25 to 30 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. Use the knife test to check doneness – it should come out clean.

8. Frosting: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, a food processor, or a large bowl with a hand beater or whisk, cream the butter. Add the powdered sugar and cacao powder and mix on low speed until soft and creamy. Stir in the vanilla and beat again for a couple of minutes.
This frosting is flexible. If it’s too stiff, add milk a tablespoon at a time. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar. Spread the frosting over the warm brownies using a spoon or spatula.