In my quest to make a super fantastic brownie, I must have made at least eight batches, averaging two a week in the last two months. Do you know how many permutation-combinations there are in one simple dish with just seven ingredients? Tweaking any ingredient will give you a different result. Mixing ingredients in a certain way will give you a different result. Baking on different racks of the oven will give you a different result. Baking with top and bottom heating rods on versus with only the bottom heating rods on will give you a different result and the list goes on and on. I like baking with only the bottom heating rods on because that gives the brownies a chewier crust. 

My main issue was that I normally use cooking chocolate for my brownies and because of the unavailability of cooking chocolate – which is semi-sweet compound without the lingering bitter aftertaste – I’m conserving my dwindling stash and very wisely decided that if I’m going to experiment multiple times, I should use something more readily available. That ended up being Amul Dark Chocolate (and no I’m not being paid by them) which is way more bitter and so I had to work on juggling the cocoa powder and flour content to make an acceptable tasting, not-so-bitter, chewy from the outside, gooey from the inside brownie which will make you want to eat more and more without loading it with too much sugar because every extra tablespoon counts in my opinion…… Phew! You get the gist right? 

So, after all that time and effort and all the tweaking and being disappointed because it was either too bitter, or too floury, or too just blah, I finally hit my stride yesterday (after making a really disappointing batch the day before) and I decided to share my creation with all you lucky people. My family has been very sporting. With everyone having a huuuuuge sweet tooth, they were all too enthusiastic to be guinea pigs every single time. I’m surprised they haven’t run screaming for the hills at the sight of yet another batch. They were very very happy with this one and it is going to be my very own permanent brownie recipe. You can add nuts or salted caramel or sour dried fruits or chocolate chips and chunks or anything to this recipe. Please follow my instructions carefully and go over the ‘important notes’ at the bottom of the post thoroughly to get the perfect result. 

Ingredients

150 gms dark chocolate (55% cocoa, not more than that)
150 gms salted butter
225 gms sugar ground to a powder
80 gms flour
20 gms cocoa powder 
1 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs

Get Started

• Cover the bottom and sides of a 9 x 7 inch rectangular baking tin with butter paper/parchment paper.

• Preheat your oven to 180°C with only the lower heating rods on. The heating rods should not be on at the top of the oven. 

• Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave for one minute. Add the chocolate to the butter and heat in the microwave for another minute. You can even heat both the items together in a double boiler. Remove and mix well till you get a glossy paste. Add the powdered sugar to it, mix well and set aside. 

• In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. 

• Beat the eggs with a fork in a bowl for at least a minute and add to the chocolate mixture,. mixing well. Then add the flour and cocoa to the wet and mix till everything is well incorporated and you have a glossy batter with no lumps. 

• Pour the batter into the baking tin, even out the batter on all sides and bake in the top rack of the oven for exactly 25 minutes. Keep for 5 to 10 minutes longer of you want a less gooey brownie. Remove immediately and leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cooled, cut into squares and enjoy.

• Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep out in cold climate, and keep in the fridge in hot and humid climate. Remove from the fridge and microwave for 30 seconds before eating. 

Important notes: Dark chocolate burns easily, so for this, if you are keeping only the bottom heating rods on, you will have to bake the dish on the top rack of the oven. If you don’t have an option to switch of your top heating rods, then bake on the centre rack of the oven. Bake for exactly 25 minutes and remove immediately for a gooey centre. 

It’s important to beat the eggs well before adding to the mixture. This will give the brownies an even rise. Mix the batter really well before pouring into the baking tin. 

The most important thing to note when baking is to Know Your Oven. Every oven behaves differently in its heating capacity. There have been cakes that have called for 40 minutes of baking time and mine has taken an hour. This knowledge is critical for your baking success.