These chocolate brownies have a crinkle top with a soft fudge center! Easy to make and way too easy to eat!
Chocolate brownies are a bit like chocolate cookies, there's more than one way to make them and using different cooking methods will always result in different textures and consistencies. Usually my go-to chocolate brownies are made by just combining all of the wet ingredients with the dry and that's pretty much it. But these crispy topped brownies are a little different. By beating the eggs and sugar together until light and airy, you create a lighter batter. When you bake them in the oven you'll notice them puffing up like a chocolate soufflé with that signature dry top. But you can be sure that the inside is moist and almost like fudge! Although these brownies would be great to have anytime, Valentine's Day is coming soon they'd make a perfect treat for someone special. They're also easy to cut into perfect squares for school lunch boxes as my kids were quick to let me know.
Making My Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
As with all recipes, the quality of the ingredients will affect the outcome of the finished recipe. I only say this for these brownies because the chocolate is such an important part so try and go for a decent chocolate with at least 63% cocoa in it. It'll make a huge difference when you taste them. Chocolate with a lower cocoa percentage means the remaining percent is made up of other things which are usually mostly sugars and stabilizers. The higher the percent usually means that the chocolate will taste more bitter and be darker. Some people prefer this and can happily nibble on an 80% chocolate bar. I prefer to eat chocolate around 63%-72%.
What Else Will I Need For This Recipe?
As well as the chocolate, you'll need
- butter
- shortening
- chocolate
- eggs
- sugar
- flour
Melting The Butter, Shortening and Chocolate
The best way to accomplish this is by using the double boiler method. This is the most gentle and less likely to burn the chocolate which can be temperamental when it needs to be melted. Find yourself a small pot and a heatproof bowl that will sit in the pot but not all the way inside if that makes sense. You only need the bowl to rest on the surface so a slightly bigger bowl than the size of your pot is what you're looking for. Fill the pot with about 2-3 inches of water and bring it to a simmer. Place the butter, shortening and chocolate in the bowl and place on top of the pot. The rising steam from the water will melt the ingredients.
Mixing The Eggs And The Sugar
You'll need a stand mixer or a handheld mixer for this part as you need to incorporate as much air into the mixture as possible. it's not impossible to do with a whisk and some muscle power but your arms will hurt afterwards!After 3-4 minutes of mixing the batter should be a pale yellow color and very airy. Gently fold in the remaining ingredients to the batter and then pour into your prepared pan.
Baking The Chocolate Brownies
These will take longer to bake than regular brownies. After about 40 minutes give the pan a gentle shake. The center will still wiggle a bit but the top should look dry. The chocolate brownies will firm up slightly as they cool, especially if you leave them in the fridge for a short time. You'll crack the surface as you cut them into squares but don't worry, they should be soft inside and the two textures are fun as you eat them!
Storing The Brownies
Keep the brownies covered as much as you can or they'll become dry. They should last about 2-3 days at room temperature.
