I came across this when was looking for an alternative brownie recipe that does not require cooking chocolate and also one that was fudgy. And I have been using this recipe for the past few years while making some adaptations.
Tips and tricks:
- Almond instead of walnut: It makes the brownie sweeter to me. Used almond for a few batches as walnut was out of stock in my local baking shop. Reduced sugar (200gram) was still too sweet for me.
- Salted butter: Just omit salt. Piglet prefers salted butter in his bread. If I were to bake brownies without plans, I wouldn’t need to run to the shops
- Brown sugar: Read that brown sugar is healthier than white sugar because it contains molasses. But honestly the added ‘nutrition’ is pretty insignificant. Tried substituting brown sugar with white sugar once, won’t do it again. Texture of the brownie will be different.
- Baking time? : It really varies. About 23 minutes with my old oven and 14 minutes with the new oven.
- Fudgy: Apparently to make it fudgy it is best refrigerated overnight in the fridge. Not tried that yet. Leave it slightly underbaked.
- No nuts: Some people do not like the texture of nuts and it can be omitted. It will reduce the bulk of the brownies and also reduce baking time. So check your brownies in the oven earlier.
- Stevia: Bad idea! Chocolate enhances the aftertaste of stevia.
- Decorations: Most of the time it is ‘naked’and plain. To hide imperfections of the surface I used icing sugar. Tried putting edible deco once but it is time consuming.
- Vanilla essence: Omitted it. Can do without…
- Baking tray: I used am 8 inch square baking tray. Previously used a rectangular pyrex.
Basic Cocoa Brownie Recipe (Adapted from Alice Medrich)
Ingredients
Butter 140g
Granulated sugar 200g
Cocoa Powder 65g
2 eggs
Salt ½ tsp
All purpose flour 65g
Walnut 80g (Adjust according to desired amount)
Method
1.Melt butter, granulated sugar, cocoa powder using a water bath method. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.
Water bath method: Put the above ingredients in a heat proof bowl in a pot of simmering water. Stir until melted. Takes about 5-10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven. Oven setting: 170 °C, fan.
3. Add eggs one by one and whisk.
4. Add salt and mix.
5. Add flour in 3 batches then fold in flour.
6. Mix walnut bits.
7. Pour batter into an 8 inch lined baking tin
8. Check after 14 minutes and it is cooked after toothpick is dry after dipping.
8. Cool it for about 2 hours before cutting into desired size.
