Chocolate Brownies

The story …

Everyone has their favourite chocolate brownie. Mine is a classic brownie, topped with a dusting of icing sugar. Nothing beats its simplicity. It’s the ultimate pick-me-up. These chocolatey squares never last longer than a few hours in our home. My daughter Chloé is a stealth “brownie slayer” of note!! One minute I have rows of brownies cooling on a wire rack, the next they’ve mysteriously disappeared!

This is a simple brownie recipe, made with both dark and milk chocolate. You can add variation to the taste and texture by simply changing the topping, or by including different ingredients, such as chocolate chunks, almonds, coconut, and even peanut butter. Visit Mauricia’s Recipes on Facebook or Instagram for another option, brownies topped with melted pink and white marshmallows.

Be warned!!! This is sticky, this is stretchy, this is gooey, and this is totally messy!! It’s also ridiculously yummy and lip-smacking good! It’s best eaten before the marshmallows cool down and harden. This is not the easiest of toppings to cut through as the marshmallows will stick to the knife. So clean the knife after every cut and use a sharp serrated bread knife. Good luck!! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Come on … join me … and savour the satisfying taste of home-made comfort food.

The recipe …

Cooks: 60 minutes Serves: 16 squares Level: Easy

Ingredients

80g slab dark chocolate, chopped
80g slab milk chocolate, chopped
180ml (¾ cup) unsalted butter, chopped
Extra butter to grease
310ml (1¼ cup) castor sugar
3 medium eggs
180ml (¾ cup) cake flour
80ml (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
Icing sugar (optional), to dust

Method

Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl in the microwave until just starting to melt.
Stir until all the chocolate and butter has melted in the residual heat.
Set aside and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Lightly grease and then line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper.
Beat the eggs and castor sugar together in a large mixing bowl for a few minutes.
Once the mixture has a mousse-like consistency, add the chocolate and butter mixture.
Fold together with a large spoon.
Now sift over the flour, cocoa powder and pinch of salt, and fold together.
Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Set aside in the pan to cool before cutting into squares.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before dusting with icing sugar.

Serve

with a dollop of fresh cream or a scoop of ice cream; equally good on its own

Saving

Concerned about the price of butter? Use baking margarine instead.
This recipe already saves you on the price of chocolate by using milk chocolate and combining it with the dark chocolate. If you are not too concerned about the price of dark chocolate, then only use 160g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids).

Bon appétit

Author: Mauricia Jordaan

Photographer: Mauricia Jordaan