I’ve been loyal to this brownie recipe for decades and have no intention of changing it! It’s super easy, super chocolatey and super fudgy. I firmly believe the best brownies must be made with both cocoa and melted chocolate, and butter instead of oil. Bonus: it’s a simple one-bowl, hand mixed recipe!
Homemade Chocolate Brownies
These homemade brownies are every chocoholics dream come true.
Need a chocolate fix urgently? These will be in the oven in 15 minutes flat (if not faster).
Hate washing up? Just one bowl to deal with here.
Like your brownies outrageously chocolatey and fudgy in the middle? This one delivers in spades.
Not such a confident cook? This recipe is astonishingly forgiving. Even if you overcook them, they might look cakey, but they still have that rich, fudgy mouthfeel. There’s just not enough flour in these to make them dry and overcooked!
And look ↓↓↓ Super fudgy yet you can actually pick it up, rather than scooping up gloops of raw batter!
And that crinkly top we all know and love!
What makes a good brownie
The secret to a really great brownie is using both melted chocolate AND cocoa powder, plus butter instead of oil (because butter has way better flavour than oil). The combination of these plus minimal flour, just enough to make a barely-set batter, and brown sugar rather than white (for extra moisture and chewiness) is what will deliver that perfect rich, fudgy brownie you’ve been dreaming about.
And to make a killer brownie, stir through a generous amount of chocolate chunks. Not only will you get little pockets of gooey chocolate, it also makes the brownie extra fudgy because some of the chocolate melds in with the batter as it bakes! (This is optional though, and I don’t add the extra chocolate for everyday brownies 🙂 ).
How to make Homemade Brownies
These dreamy brownies start by melting chocolate and butter together before whisking in eggs and vanilla. Then just mix in flour and coco powder, and lastly stir in the extra chocolate chunks if you’re using it. Scrape into lined pan and bake!
How to tell when brownies are done
Stick a toothpick in the centre of the brownie, hold it for 2 seconds, then take it out.
super gooey – if there is a lot of smear on it (24 minutes bake time)
** moist and fudgy (my favourite) ** – if the toothpick gets a brown strain and has some smear on it (28 minutes)
cakey (but still fudgy mouthfeel) – toothpick is clean with just a few crumbs (32 minutes). But still really moist (because this recipe only has 1/2 cup of flour in it, impossible not to be moist!).
Fudgy, gooey brownies
The brownies in the photos and video are what I call “fudgy moist”. As in – super fudgy but not just a gloop of uncooked batter. You can pick it up with your hands rather than eating it with a spoon.
I have more elaborate brownies in my repertoire – such as these Outrageous Nutella Brownies (which certainly live up to their name!) and these Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies (the caramel filling is creamy and set, like a soft fudge).
But this classic Chocolate Brownies recipe is the one I make most of the time. It’s my go-to because it’s everything I want in a brownie made with minimal fuss. The essential ingredients to make it super chocolatey, lovely and moist, and no unnecessary extras.
The other thing is that my brownie is sweet, but not tooth-achingly sweet. There are some brownie recipes out there that use almost double the sugar I do and they are far too sweet for me. The sugar in this recipe is just the right amount of sweet for me. No one has ever complained about my brownies not being sweet enough, that’s for sure! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Easy Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 200g / 14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 US sticks)
- 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips or melts/discs (US: semi-sweet chocolate) (Note 1)
- 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 3 large eggs , lightly beaten (fridge cold or room temp is fine)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder , sifted
- Pinch of salt
OPTIONAL EXTRA CHOCOLATE ADD-INS
- 180g / 6oz (1 cup) dark chocolate chips, or block/bar chopped into chunks (OPTIONAL!) (US: semi-sweet chocolate) (Note 2)
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- Melt choc and butter, mix in sugar and vanilla, then eggs. Stir in flour, cocoa and salt, bake in lined 20cm/8" pan at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 28 minutes. Cool before slicing.
FULL RECIPE
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Spray a 20cm/8" square tin with oil or grease with butter. Line with baking paper/parchment paper with overhang (Note 3).
- Melt chocolate and butter – Place butter and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, microwave in 30 second bursts (takes me 1m 30 sec) until melted. Stir until smooth.
- Sugar and eggs – Add sugar and vanilla, mix, then add eggs and mix well until smooth and molten.
- Dry ingredients – Add flour, cocoa and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate, pour into pan.
- Bake 24 minutes for really gooey in the centre, 28 minutes for fudgey but still very moist (my favourie, shown in video & photos), 32 minutes for moist fudge-cake-like. (See in post for toothpick testphotos).
- Rest for 10 minutes before lifting out of the pan (they are fragile when hot). Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting. For really neat slices, refrigerate for 30 minutes, or even overnight, but always eat at room temp for fudgy perfection!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2016. Updated with new photos and brand new video in 2020.
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Dozer hates being hugged. Don’t know why. I mean, what dog doesn’t like their face being squished like this in a chokehold grip?
Tried this recipe tasted great but they were so greasy too much butter very disappointed
I agree. Too much butter
Made this tonight. So delicious! A real hit. And so easy, too. I think this will now be my go-to brownie recipe.
Thank you.
Hi there! I’ve been wow-ing my family with your dishes for a while now and none of them have let me down. My brownies came out fantastically gooey, but unfortunately without the paper-like layer on top:( It was more of a cakey top and I’m trying to figure out where I went wrong. Could it have been because I used a tray that was a few inches bigger?
It’d be wonderful if you could get back to me on this
Thankyou! xx
If you use a bigger tin for the same quantity of mixture you normally reduce the baking time slightly as there is a greater surface area. If you didn’t reduce it you may have slightly over baked it. If you go for a smaller tin you usually have to increase the time slightly. Like you, I have used lots of Nagi’s wonderful recipes over and over again. Don;t know how I would manage without her and Nigella for inspiration. I have made these brownies so many times I have lost count and they never disappoint. i alway have to make 2 batches at a time as they disappear so fast.
I used a pyrex dish today to make these brownies, did some Googling which told me to decrease the temperature by 25 degrees F so I did that and they turned out perfect!
That’s great to hear Amy! N x
OMG!!! I was known as the “brownie queen” these are a game changer!!! Everyone said theyd never ever eaten a brownie like this,they were simply incredible.Wont ever use another recipe again.Baked for 30 mins and looked exactly like they did in your photo. Perfection!!!!!
Wahoo that’s great to hear Louise!!! N x
Hi Nagi, awesome recipe, these came out great! Only one problem with the cooking time. Didn’t have a brownie tin so used a square pyrex dish, probably twice as deep as a brownie tin. The brownies took about 45mins to set, after 28mins the mix was setting around the edges but still raw in the middle. Using a new fan assisted oven (and preheated) so temp should have been okay. Could it have been using a pyrex dish that made it take longer?
Easy recipe that works so well. Loved it and my guests were impressed x
We made this and my 4 kids LOVED it!! Only sorry I don’t seem to be able to upload the photo of them enjoying it. 🙂 Thanks, Nagi!
Hi, Nagi!
What would you recommend as ratio if I want to use more cocoa powder than chocolate chips?
Hey Nagi, I was wondering….
If I use a block of milk chocolate as a substitute for chocolate chips, can I still add the additional choco-chunks?
If I can, then I have one more problem. My additional chunks are made of milk chocolate too, not dark chocolate. Will it make the brownies too sweet? Do I need to reduce the sugar then? Also, I have to use white sugar as I don’t have any brown at home.
Please do reply soon, I’m dying to try out your brownies. They look just divine!
Hi Sidra, it’s changing the whole recipe using white sugar and milk chocolate – it will be really sweet unfortunately doing it this way! N x
Hey Nagi, I was wondering……
If I use a block of milk chocolate as a substitute for chocolate chips, can I still add the additional choco-chunks?
If I can, then I have one more problem, my additional chunks are made of milk chocolate too, not dark chocolate. Will it make the brownies too sweet? Do I need to reduce the sugar then? Also, I have to use white sugar as I don’t have any brown at home.
Please do reply soon. I’m dying to try your brownies, they look just divine!
hello, i am liking your recipes very much. can you suggest a substitute for eggs in this recipe
Hi Neetika, I haven’t tried with an egg substitute in this recipe sorry! N x
Can’t wait to bake it, I have been looking at few others… but yours was written simply clearer and easier.
Will let you know if the result.?
You’ll love them Ellie! N x
Hi Nagi,
I was wondering if I could use a water bath to melt the butter and chocolate since I don‘t own a microwave?
Thanks a ton! 🙂
P.S. I love your recipes, big fan :))
Sure can – or do over a very gentle heat on the stove 🙂 N x
Will it work with milk chocolate rather than using dark?
Hi Megan, it will – it may be very sweet though as dark chocolate is more bitter! N x
Hi Nagi, recipe looks delicious! I’m wondering though if it will still work if I simply swap the flour for gluten free flour? Thanks 🙂
Hi Kate – try this one instead! https://lean-target.today/brownies-fudgey-easy-gluten-free/%3C/a%3E N x
I just made these and they taste delicious, but are very mushy. What did I do wrong??
Hi Roz – sorry you had issues here, sounds like yours needed to cook a little longer! N x
Hi Nagi! I baked this according to your recipe but a thin layer of the brownie’s bottom was burnt 🙁 SOS! P.s. they still taste great tho!! I just wanted to perfect it so I can gift it to someone special 😁
I agree, too mushy! and I cooked longer than recommended
Oh Nagi….you’ve done it again….yummy yummy yummy! My hubby and daughter would’ve eaten the whole thing and I didn’t include the extra chopped up chocolate!! Divine!
I’m so glad it was a hit Erika! N x
Is it ok if use 2 eggs or what is the difference if 3 eggs?
Hi El, you’ll need 3 eggs here – it’s what sets the brownie. If you only have two eggs – use the servings slider down unit you reach “2 eggs” and the rest of the ingredients will scale down too. Use a smaller pan to bake and you’re all set! N x
Will do use 3 eggs. Thanks for your advice Nagi!
Super fudgy brownies, way better than box brownies. This is the brownie recipe I have been searching for. Thanks Nagi.
Homemade beats anything from a box – I’m so glad you loved them Stephanie! N x