The Essential Ingredient – Easy Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Chocolate that comes bite size or a slab, served  warm or cold, eaten traditionally with milk or decently with ice cream, fudge or cream ( or all three) – brownies – what’s not to love.

As a teenager when I started to dabble in baking, this white chocolate and raspberry brownies recipe from the Australian Women’s Weekly was my go to recipe. I would omit the raspberries and the recipe would produce a mild, cake like chocolate brownie. A tray of these babies would regularly surface at many a birthday party and Christmas lunch or was the result of just wanting an excuse to eat chocolate and lick the bowl.

Over the years, as my baking skills have enhanced, so have my taste buds and I recently found myself on the search for a sophisticated chocolate fudge brownie recipe. I wanted a recipe that resulted in an intense flavoured fudgy brownie. After researching recipes, I noticed that most recipes that produce a  decadent adults only brownie used cocoa. Specifically, the recipes always called for Dutch cocoa, Nestle or Cadbury just won’t do. While I came across many recipes with this ingredient, I was yet to find it stocked anywhere near me. Dutch cocoa seemed to elusive and so I decided to settle on this Nigella Lawson brownie recipe, using cocoa that lacked an origin. I figured Nigella Lawson  would give me a recipe that creates a sultry, intense browinite. While it produced a fudgy brownie, it was lacking a depth of flavour.

One Saturday morning, Alex and I visited Prahran Market. After chatting and sipping away two lattes each at Market Lane Coffee, we wandered into The Essential Ingredient, a delightful store full of food, cookware and home wares. After debating over what Kitchen Aid colour was the best, I spotted Dutch cocoa on one of the shelves as we wandered through the store. I don’t know if it was the caffeine buzz, or the that Alex shared my passion for Kitchen Aids, but my heart skipped a beat. I could finally make a tray of brownies, using this long sought after ingredient.

I decided to use this easy chocolate brownie recipe by Gary Mehigan, adapted slightly, and it ticks all the right boxes. It produces a fudgy not too dense, dark chocolaty flavoured tray of goodness. O.M.G, talk about Dutch cocoa being an essential ingredient! The addition of chunks of dark chocolate takes the brownies to another level. Served still warm or gently nuked in the microwave means that when you bite in, the chocolate chunks are melted and gooey and you are rewarded with the feeling of eating a cake covered in hot fudge sauce.

I have also made this easy chocolate brownie recipe with the addition of chunks of white chocolate. The sweet milky flavour of the white chocolate balances the dark chocolate and adds another element when you bite in. You could also add any type of crushed nuts such as walnuts or pecans for extra crunch and flavour.

We hope you enjoyed this easy chocolate brownie recipe as much as we did making it. Be sure to like our Facebook Page if you would like to be updated on future recipes from us.

– Alex and Rani