best fudgy cocoa brownies
The Best Fudgy Cocoa Brownies you’ll ever try thanks to a special addition that gives these brownies a super fudgy centre without losing that crispy, crackly top!
This one-bowl cocoa brownie recipe is outrageously easy to throw together, skipping the extra bowls and the extra steps but keeping ALL of the extra flavour.
cocoa brownies recipe
What if I told you that you don’t need to melt chocolate or chocolate chips with butter together to make brownies and you don’t need two separate bowls? Just one bowl and five minutes to bring it all together to make the BEST cocoa brownies you’ll eat in this lifetime. The best part is they’re only 144 calories EACH! Dramatically lighter than the usual 356 calorie brownies, am I right?
what makes brownies fudgy vs cakey?
Hot melted butter creates those crackly tops!
Whisk your butter and sugar really well.
Beat in your eggs for a good minute. This step is crucial for that crackly top
Do not over-beat your batter once the flour and cocoa powder are added. That creates air in the batter which will give you cake-like textured cocoa brownies. Cakey is okay, but not today friends.
Try not over bake them! I like mine at exactly 21:30 minutes. You can go a little bit over if you like them slightly more set, but I don’t recommend it if you’re looking for the fudgiest brownies you’ve ever tried.
I bake my brownies on the top shelf in the oven. I find the middle shelf cooks them a lot faster and dries them out.
what’s the difference between cocoa brownies and chocolate brownies?
The difference between the two brownies comes down to the different types of fat used. For instance, cocoa brownie recipes traditionally use oil while chocolate brownies use butter.
The texture and flavour of the brownie can also differ based on the use of cocoa over melted chocolate. Personally, we prefer the flavours and fudgy textures you get from cocoa brownies!
Are these brownies cakey, chewy, or fudgy?
They are the best of all worlds. I would say thick and chewy are the first adjectives that come to mind. A tiny amount of baking powder adds just enough air to the batter to create the perfect chew without being really cakey. The high sugar, butter, and cocoa content and low flour and baking powder content is really the perfect ratio that makes the texture sing. They are gooey and rich without being underbaked. They're very similar to the texture of most box mix brownies (but better of course).
Should you use a glass or metal pan for brownies?
You can use a glass or metal 9x13 inch pan for this recipe. They turn out very similarly, but the glass pan will be slightly more tall and cakey and the metal pan will be slightly more dense with chewier edges. The reason for this is that metal pans heat up more quickly. The glass pan will need to bake longer to finally get the center of the pan baked, therefore cooking the outer pieces for longer. I prefer a metal pan for this recipe.
How do I know if my brownies are done?
Your brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with sticky crumbs, but not any wet batter. This ensures that you will have chewy, moist brownies without having to leave them too gooey and underbaked. See the photo below to get an idea of what the toothpick should look like when it's done.
The exact bake time for brownies will have to do with the thickness and material of your pan, so don't be afraid to add a few extra minutes if you are still getting batter on your toothpick. Make sure when you test your brownies that you don't poke your toothpick right into a chocolate chip and mistake the melted chocolate for raw batter!
I hope you all enjoy this recipe and let me know how they turn out for you! They were a labor of love. And now that I have so lovingly eaten so many brownies over the years (for you!!), I think I can safely say that I can rest assured that I have gotten them perfect and will happily not eat another brownie for the next decade. But when I do, they will be these.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and HOT
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil olive oil or coconut oil are fine
- 1 ⅛ cup superfine sugar caster sugar or white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup all purpose flour or plain flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking oil spray. Line with parchment paper (or baking paper); set aside.
Combine hot melted butter, oil and sugar together in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk well for about a minute. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat until lighter in colour (another minute).
Sift in flour, cocoa powder and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until JUST combined (do NOT over beat as doing so well affect the texture of your brownies).
Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top out evenly. (OPTIONAL: Top with chocolate chunks or chocolate chips.)
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the centre of the brownies in the pan no longer jiggles and is just set to the touch (the brownies will keep baking in the hot pan out of the oven). If testing with a toothpick, the toothpick should come out dirty for fudge-textured brownies.
Remove and allow to cool to room temperature before slicing into 16 brownies.
OPTIONAL ADD INS:
Crushed walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chocolate chunks, dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, etc)
Regular white, granulated, sugar can be used if you can't find caster sugar. For even fudgier brownies, use half white and half light brown sugar!
TIPS AND TRICKS:
1. Whisk your butter and sugar really well.2. Beat in your eggs for a good minute. This step is crucial for that crackly top3. Do NOT over beat your batter once the flour and cocoa powder are added. THAT creates air pockets in the batter which will give you cake-like textured brownies.4. Try NOT over bake them. Check them at around the 15 minute mark and keep your eye on them. As some ovens run hotter than others, timing is a guide only. Our oven bakes them at exactly 21:30 minutes. Another oven we tested them in baked them at 18:40 minutes. You can go a little bit over if you like them set a bit more, but I don't recommend it if you're looking for the fudgiest brownies in this lifetime.5. I bake my brownies on the top shelf in the oven. I find the middle shelf cooks them a lot faster and dries them out. If your oven runs hotter at the top half, move them to the middle shelf.
