Easy Chocolate Brownies

Deeply chocolatey, fudgy brownies with a shiny, crackly top and a squidgy middle. They're made in one bowl with simple ingredients, and the only skill involved is not overbaking them.

Everyone needs one reliable brownie recipe, and this is it — properly fudgy, deeply chocolatey, and made in a single bowl with no fancy equipment. The whole thing hinges on two moments: whisking the eggs and sugar well for that irresistible crackly top, and taking them out of the oven while the middle still looks slightly underdone. Trust the wobble and you’ll be rewarded.

Ingredients

• 200g dark chocolate — broken up
• 200g butter
• 250g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100g plain flour
• 30g cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C) and line a 20cm square tin. Melt the chocolate and butter together gently, then let it cool a little.
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and thick — a few minutes of whisking gives the shiny, crackly top.
3. Stir the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs, then sift in the flour, cocoa and salt and fold in just until combined.
4. Pour into the tin and bake for 22–25 minutes — the top should be set and cracked but the middle still have a slight wobble.
5. Let it cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares; they firm up as they cool.

Serve it with

• A scoop of vanilla ice cream
• A dusting of icing sugar
• Fresh raspberries
• A drizzle of warm chocolate sauce

Why this works

Whisking the eggs and sugar until pale traps air and dissolves the sugar, which is what creates that glossy, papery, crackly top. Pulling the brownies out while the middle still wobbles is the trick to a fudgy centre rather than a cakey one.

Common swaps

• Stir in chocolate chips, chopped nuts or a swirl of peanut butter.
• Add a shot of espresso to deepen the chocolate flavour.
• Use half milk, half dark chocolate for a sweeter brownie.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Overbaking — they carry on setting as they cool, so pull them while the centre wobbles.
• Skipping the egg-and-sugar whisk, which loses the crackly top.
• Cutting them warm, so they fall apart. Let them cool fully.

Storage, freezing & reheating

Storage: Keep in an airtight tin for up to 4 days — they get fudgier.

Freezing: Freeze for up to 3 months, well wrapped.

Reheating: Warm a square for 10–15 seconds in the microwave for a gooey treat.

Allergen notes: contains gluten, milk, egg. Always check individual product labels.

Estimated nutrition

Per serving, estimated from typical ingredient values — not a substitute for precise dietary calculation.