I love brownies with chocolate, but it's always so difficult to find ones that really meet my expectation.
No doubt some are really really decadently moist, dense and soft, just like how brownies are meant to be. But most of the time, I am grossly disappointed. They are either too dry or too cakey; or too gooey to the point that they feel undercooked.
When I read reviews about brownie recipes online, I notice that not everyone is into the same texture for brownies. Some like them really gooey, some like them dense and fudgy while others like them with a slightly cake like texture to them.
This chewy brownies recipe yields a not-too-gooey or fudgy brownie. It is made with chocolate (hence the name brownies with chocolate), bakes with a lovely crinkled top and is decadently moist in texture on the inside. In comparison to my cocoa powder brownies here, these chewy chocolate brownies are slightly lighter both in color and texture and are therefore perfect for those who prefer them that way. And because they are of a sturdier structure (despite being wonderfully moist), these brownies with chocolate are perfect for cutting into shapes and for decorating.
Difference between the chocolate brownies and cocoa powder brownies
- The first main difference is that these chocolate brownies are made using both chocolate and cocoa powder while my cocoa powder brownies are made entirely with cocoa powder (without any chocolate).
- The cocoa powder brownies are also darker in color and more dense and soft in texture. The chocolate brownies, on the other hand, are definitely of a lighter shade and despite being deliciously moist on the inside, are not as dense as compared to the fudgy cocoa powder brownies. This is because the proportion of flour and cocoa powder to butter is much more in the cocoa powder brownies than in these chewy chocolate brownies which explains its lighter texture.
- The fudgy cocoa powder brownies are made entirely with brown sugar, hence the deep dense and fudgy texture of the brownies while these chewy brownies are made entirely with white sugar. White sugar mixed into hot melted butter produces the crinkled top that gives the chewy chocolate brownies a lovely light crunch on the top and a light and moist texture on the inside. My cocoa powder brownies do not produce such a crinkled top, rather it has a shiny smooth top.
Overall, these brownies differ mainly in texture with one being softer and dense while the other is sturdier and lighter. Nevertheless, both are decadently moist and delicious and are sure to not disappoint all brownie lovers.
How to Make Brownies with Chocolate
Ingredients
These brownies require the following ingredients:
- Butter
- Dark bittersweet chocolate
- Unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- Plain flour + salt
- Castor sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla essence
- Dark chocolate chips
Mixing the chocolate brownie batter:
- First off is preparing the baking tin. Grease and line it with parchment paper.
- Next is melting the butter. Do this over very low heat. Once the butter was completely melted and still very hot, add the chopped chocolate pieces to it to melt.
- As soon as the chocolate has melted, transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add sugar to it while it was still hot. Give it a good whisk for about 30 to 45 seconds.
- Next to go into the batter is the egg. Continue to whisk the batter until the egg is all well incorporated.
- After that add the vanilla essence and salt, followed by the flour and cocoa powder. The flour and cocoa powder is best sifted into the brownies batter to avoid lumps. Mix them in until they are fully incorporated into the batter.
- And finally, add the chocolate chips. Give everything a good mix and then pour the chocolate brownie batter into the prepared 6 inches square cake tin.
- Bake the brownies for 20 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius.
- The chewy brownie with chocolate is done when the sides feel firm when pressed and the center still soft. Remove the baked brownie from the oven and let it rest in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out of the tin. Allow the brownie to cool to room temperature before cutting.
- This is a pretty small batch of brownies with chocolate. Cut into 2-inch squares, this chewy chocolate brownies recipe makes a total of 9 brownie squares.
Notes
As I have mentioned in my cocoa powder brownies page, there are a couple of very important factors that determine the success of your brownies other than a good recipe. It is really worth the time to understand these factors so that you too bake the best brownies every single time.
Baking time and tin size
- Always make sure you keep to the baking time and tin size as mentioned in this brownies with chocolate recipe. If you change the tin size, the baking time has to be adjusted accordingly.
- For larger tin sizes, since the chocolate brownies batter is spread thinner, you would need to reduce your baking time. And for smaller tin sizes, since the batter is spread thicker, it would require a longer baking time.
- These changes are the single most frequent reason why people often end up with over baked or under baked brownies.
Type of the baking tin
- If a chocolate brownie recipe calls for a metal tin and you bake yours in a glass dish, be mindful that the baking time would need to be adjusted accordingly as brownies tend to bake faster in metal tins as compared to glass dishes.
Oven temperature
- Oven temperature is another factor that could affect the texture of your chocolate brownies. The tricky thing about oven temperatures is that different ovens require different degrees of heat for the same results.
- For example, I always set my oven to a 160 to 170 degrees Celsius when baking cakes, even if the recipe requires the oven temperature to be 180 degrees Celsius.
- The oven temperature for baking these super moist brownies with chocolate is often the same as that used for cakes. And so when baking my brownies, I reduce my oven temperature to that I normally use for my cakes. You should ideally set your oven temperature to the heat you use when baking cakes.
Brownies with Chocolate - Recipe
Here is the full printable version of my decadent brownie recipe:
Brownies with Chocolate
Ingredients
- 90 g butter
- 60 g dark bittersweet chocolate
- 10 g unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 50 g plain flour
- 125 castor sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 50 g dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°Celsius. Grease and line a 6 inches square cake tin with parchment paper.
- Melt butter over very low heat. While waiting for the butter to melt, chop chocolate into small pieces. Once butter has melted, turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Add brown sugar and whisk for about 30 – 45 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
- Add egg to the butter-chocolate-sugar mix and whisk until the egg is all well incorporated, for about 1 minute. Add salt and stir.
- Next, add vanilla essence and mix well. Sift flour and cocoa powder into the mixture and fold them in until well incorporated.
- Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the brownie batter into the prepared tin and level the top.
- Bake for about 20 minutes at your normal cake baking temperature. Remove brownie from oven and let it cool in tin for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cut into 9 pieces or larger piece as desired and serve.
Nutrition
And that's that.
Here are my other posts you might want to check out:
- Chocolate Cake Recipe - With Tin Size Guide
- Chocolate Cupcakes from Scratch
- Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Cookies
- Chocolate Icing Recipe
- Easy Cocoa Powder Brownies - Dark & Fudgy
- Fudgy Almond Brownies
Happy baking 🙂
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