Catherine’s Ultimate Very Chocolaty Brownies
Chocolaty, gooey, deliciously rich is the only way to describe Catherine’s ultimate very chocolaty brownies. A few months ago the whole support team at work took part in a cooking competition. The menus were elaborate and exciting from frog’s legs to risottos. But the winner was a humble dish, brownies, a la Catherine.
Well I had to try them for myself and yes they are the ultimate and very chocolaty indeed.My lips are still sticking together and I have gooey chocolate stuck between my teeth and I feel sick! But boy they are GOOD!
There are hundreds of brownie recipes but its rare that you find one like this. I found that the brownies last well and almost get better as they mature. I did manage to freeze some to test if they lose their gooeyness. Freezing them works well, let them defrost at room temperature and they retain their crispy top. Yum, Yum….
- 300g unsalted butter
- 300g good quality dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa solids
- 5 large free range eggs
- 450g unrefined caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
- 150g plain flour
- 50g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a 34 x 25cm x 6cm deep baking tray or roasting tin with baking parchment and lightly grease with oil.
Chop the chocolate into small even size pieces. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl over simmering water creating a double boiler or if you have a Thermomix melt the butter and chocolate for 5 minutes at 50°C on speed 3.
Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla seeds until the mixture become thick, creamy and pale in colour.
Slowly add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture , while whisking.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt over the chocolaty mixture, use long folding motions to fold the flour in to the chocolate mixture.
Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin ensuring the mixture is evenly distributed. Place the baking tray on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. This giant brownie should not wobble, but should remain gooey on the inside. I prefer to set the timer first for 20 minutes, test by giving the tray a small pat if the brownie wobbles it needs a further 5 minutes. If it’s solid, it means that the brownie is cooked. Remember that it will continue cooking as it cools down.
Leave to cool for about 30 minutes before cutting into desired shapes, dust with extra cocoa powder for that final cocoa kick.
Makes approximately 30 chocolate brownies, but then it depends on how big you cut them, it's easier to say you will get approximately 1.4kg of cooked brownies.
Catherine’s Tips and the Food Fanatic agrees!
Make sure you use the correct size tray and DO NOT OVERCOOK THEM. As a rule, when you start to smell them they are usually close to being done: you are better off removing them too soon and putting them back, which does no harm at all! For a bit of variation add nuts or dried fruits. Fold these into the mix last.
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This is very good brownies!
Hi there Madalene, I made these brownies yesterday and I have to agree with you – they are really, *really* good. I was mainly making them for a friend’s birthday and didn’t want to end up with the whole 1.4kg, so I reduced the quantities and cooked in a smaller tin.
I used an 18cm square tin and dropped the ingredients to 120g butter, 120g chocolate, 2 eggs, 180g sugar, 60g flour, 20g cocoa & 1/2 teaspoon salt. They took about 25 minutes to cook.
Mine aren’t as thick as yours, but the flavour is incredible. Intense chocolatey-ness and they’re quite sticky and gooey. Wonderful.
Thanks for posting this, it’s a cracker recipe. My partner was very upset when I told him I was giving most of them away!
Hi Madelene
Thought you’d like to know that the Brownies won “Best Brownie” in my other half’s Company Picnic bake off today. & Brits won in 3 out of the 5 other categories with a Victoria Sandwich taking best in show.
I don’t work in the food industry – I am a 3D artist, but food is one of my favourite hobbies.
Sam
Hi Madelene
I just made the Brownies again. Much better this time. I cooked them for 35 minutes and they are perfect this time and actually look like yours do in the picture. They still have a soft, fudgy centre but this time I was able to cut them into pieces unlike the last time when I could only serve them with a spoon. I sprinkled the entire brownie with cocoa nibs just before baking (a tip I read in Alice Medrich’s “Pure Desserts”) and it seems to have worked well, adding another layer of crunch to the surface.
My electric oven is pretty ancient, nothing fancy like convection, and it could well be inaccurate. I also understand that flour behaves a bit differently in the US – so maybe a combination of those things explain why I have needed to cook mine a little longer to get a more satisfying result.
Thanks again for sharing this recipe, it’s great – I certainly thought it was worth persevering with to get right for my kitchen.
Sam
Hi Madelene
I made the Brownies – they are outrageous! I bought the right size pan especially to make them. So good, mmmm. The only thing I would say is that I think mine are still undercooked. They stopped jiggling at 25 minutes and I removed them from the oven. But once they cooled down they were still extremely gooey and I had to eat them with a spoon. I will try them again tomorrow when they are completely stone cold. I might pop them back in the oven a while if still really soft before taking them to work -which I must do –
because if I ate this whole 1.4 kg all by myself I think I would expire! One element of the recipe I love is the salt – it really pulls everything together and brings out the flavours. Thank you so much to you and Catherine for sharing this true gem.
Btw I used Sharffenberger 62% chocolate and Guittard Cocoa Rouge (which does happen to be the Dutch Process we talked about)
thanks for all your help
Hi Sam
I’m so excited that you made it. Do not cook it any longer. Let it cool compleatly put it in the fridge it will keep it’s gooeyness.
Lol Maddy
Sam
Should I use Dutch process, or non-Dutch process for this? I always get so confused about when to use which. Thanks.
Sam
Hi Sam,
You can use either or for this recipe as there is no baking soda used in this recipes. I recommend a very bitter coca powder for the ultimate hit.
Regards
Madalene
What a little winner this recipe is!!
Definitely one to hide from the children – it is far too good for them!!
Thanks!
Recipe is fantastic. Guests loved it
Gonna be a firm favorite on the hospitality menu.
Nice recipe