Brownies and Blondies
Cooking Skills: Chocolate 1
Chapter 5 · Brownies and Blondies
Skill goal
Bake four brownie-style bakes and control fudgy against cakey by flour and baking time.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Brownies and blondies are the friendliest chocolate bakes: one bowl, no creaming, no rising. The skill is in the balance. More chocolate, butter and egg and little flour gives a fudgy brownie; more flour and a little baking powder give a cakey one. Cooking time then decides how fudgy it ends up.
The method
- Line the tin so the whole bake lifts out and cuts cleanly.
- Cool the melted chocolate before adding the eggs.
- Mix gently, just until the flour disappears: too much beating makes a tough brownie.
- Underbake slightly. A brownie sets as it cools, so take it out while the middle still wobbles.
- Cool completely in the tin before cutting, or chill it for neat edges.
| Bake | Flavour | Texture | Check it's done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa brownies | Strong cocoa | Fudgy, crinkly top | Moist crumbs on a skewer |
| Melted-chocolate brownies | Deep, rich chocolate | Dense, glossy | Set edges, slight wobble |
| Blondies | Caramel, vanilla | Soft, chewy | Golden, soft middle |
| Swirl brownies | Chocolate and tangy cheese | Fudgy with a creamy swirl | Set, slight wobble; chill |
Raw batter, hot oven and keeping
Raw batter: don't eat raw brownie, cake or cookie mixture. It contains raw egg and raw flour, which can carry harmful bacteria. Use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and bake it fully.Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and put the tin on a heatproof surface. Don't leave the oven unattended, because chocolate bakes go from perfect to dry quickly, and every oven is a little different, so check early.
Keeping: store baked treats in an airtight tin at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days (general guidance), or freeze them wrapped for up to about a month. Anything with a cream cheese or cream filling belongs in the fridge.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
One-bowl cocoa brownies
The easiest brownie: melted butter, sugar, eggs and cocoa stirred in one bowl, with no chocolate to melt. They are fudgy and a little crinkly on top. Stir until just combined and no more.
Ingredients (16 portions)
- 100 g butter, melted
- 200 g caster sugar
- 2 Lion-marked eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 g cocoa powder, sifted
- 60 g plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 20 cm square tin, lined
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line the tin. Mix the melted butter and sugar in a bowl, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Sift in the cocoa, flour and salt and stir gently until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.
- Pour into the tin and level. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the top is set and a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in the tin.
Raw batter, hot oven, cooling and keeping
Raw batter: don't eat raw brownie, cake or cookie mixture. It contains raw egg and raw flour, which can carry harmful bacteria. Use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and bake it fully.Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and put the tin on a heatproof surface. Don't leave the oven unattended, because chocolate bakes go from perfect to dry quickly, and every oven is a little different, so check early.
Cooling and cutting: let a bake cool in its tin so it sets, lift it out by the parchment, and cut with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts. Don't cut hot brownies: they fall apart and burn.
Keeping: store baked treats in an airtight tin at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days (general guidance), or freeze them wrapped for up to about a month. Anything with a cream cheese or cream filling belongs in the fridge.
Level 2 · Melted chocolate
Melted-chocolate brownies
Real chocolate melted with butter gives a deeper, glossier, fudgier brownie than cocoa alone. Let the melted mixture cool a little before adding the eggs, or they scramble.
Ingredients (16 portions)
- 150 g dark chocolate (about 70%), chopped
- 150 g butter
- 200 g caster sugar
- 3 Lion-marked eggs
- 100 g plain flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 20 cm square tin, lined
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line the tin. Melt the chocolate and butter gently over barely simmering water, stir smooth and cool for 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour and salt until just combined.
- Pour into the tin and bake for 23 to 26 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle still has a slight wobble. Cool completely in the tin.
Melting, raw batter and hot oven
Gentle heat: chocolate scorches easily and turns dull and bitter. Melt it in a heatproof bowl over (not touching) barely simmering water, or in the microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring each time. Take it off the heat when it is mostly melted and stir until smooth. Milk and white chocolate burn faster than dark, so use lower heat for them.Raw batter: don't eat raw brownie, cake or cookie mixture. It contains raw egg and raw flour, which can carry harmful bacteria. Use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and bake it fully.
Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and put the tin on a heatproof surface. Don't leave the oven unattended, because chocolate bakes go from perfect to dry quickly, and every oven is a little different, so check early.
Cooling and cutting: let a bake cool in its tin so it sets, lift it out by the parchment, and cut with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts. Don't cut hot brownies: they fall apart and burn.
Level 2 · Blonde
Blondies
A blondie is a brownie without the cocoa: brown sugar and butter give a caramel flavour, with chocolate chunks through it. The centre should still be soft when you take it out, as it sets while cooling.
Ingredients (16 portions)
- 125 g butter, melted and cooled
- 175 g light brown sugar
- 2 Lion-marked eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 100 g white or milk chocolate chunks
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 20 cm square tin, lined
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line the tin. Whisk the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined, then the chocolate chunks.
- Spread in the tin and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until golden on top with a soft middle. Cool in the tin before cutting.
Raw batter, hot oven and keeping
Raw batter: don't eat raw brownie, cake or cookie mixture. It contains raw egg and raw flour, which can carry harmful bacteria. Use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and bake it fully.Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and put the tin on a heatproof surface. Don't leave the oven unattended, because chocolate bakes go from perfect to dry quickly, and every oven is a little different, so check early.
Cooling and cutting: let a bake cool in its tin so it sets, lift it out by the parchment, and cut with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts. Don't cut hot brownies: they fall apart and burn.
Keeping: store baked treats in an airtight tin at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days (general guidance), or freeze them wrapped for up to about a month. Anything with a cream cheese or cream filling belongs in the fridge.
Allergens: chocolate contains milk (except some dark), and often soy (lecithin) and sometimes nuts or traces of them: check the label and the 'may contain' line. Cream, butter and many coatings are dairy, and cookies and biscuits contain wheat and often egg. Dairy-free dark chocolate and coconut cream can replace the dairy in many recipes, but the texture changes.
Level 3 · Swirl
Cream cheese swirl brownies
A tangy cream cheese mixture swirled through brownie batter makes a marbled top. Drop the cheese mixture in spoonfuls and drag a knife through only two or three times, or the colours blend into brown.
Ingredients (16 portions)
- 1 batch melted-chocolate brownie batter (above)
- 150 g full-fat cream cheese
- 40 g caster sugar
- 1 Lion-marked egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 20 cm square tin, lined
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan), line the tin and make the brownie batter. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the brownie batter into the tin and level it. Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top.
- Drag a knife through the two mixtures two or three times. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set with a slight wobble. Cool in the tin, then chill before cutting.
Cream cheese, raw batter and hot oven
Cream cheese swirl: use full-fat cream cheese straight from the fridge. A swirl brownie contains cream cheese and egg yolk, so keep it in the fridge and eat it within about 3 days (general guidance).Raw batter: don't eat raw brownie, cake or cookie mixture. It contains raw egg and raw flour, which can carry harmful bacteria. Use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and bake it fully.
Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and put the tin on a heatproof surface. Don't leave the oven unattended, because chocolate bakes go from perfect to dry quickly, and every oven is a little different, so check early.
Cooling and cutting: let a bake cool in its tin so it sets, lift it out by the parchment, and cut with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts. Don't cut hot brownies: they fall apart and burn.
Experiments
Experiment
Cooking time
20, 25 and 30 minutes.
- Bake three small tins of the same brownie batter for 20, 25 and 30 minutes. Cool and cut each.
Look for: The shortest is gooey and may sink; the middle is fudgy; the longest is dry and cakey. Note the time that you like in your oven.
Experiment
Sugar amount
Less or more.
- Make one batch with 150 g and another with 250 g of sugar, keeping everything else the same.
Look for: The low-sugar brownie is dense and bitter with a dull top; the high-sugar one has a crisp shiny crust and is very sweet. Aim in the middle.
Experiment
Flour amount
Fudgy or cakey.
- Make a batch with 60 g of flour and another with 120 g, plus a pinch of baking powder.
Look for: The first is fudgy and dense; the second is lighter and cake-like. Flour is the lever for texture.
Experiment
Cooling time
Warm, cool and chilled.
- Cut a square warm from the oven, another after 1 hour and another after chilling overnight.
Look for: The warm square collapses; the cooled one holds its shape; the chilled one is the fudgiest and cuts cleanly. Patience gives neater brownies.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa brownies | ||||
| Melted-chocolate brownies | ||||
| Blondies | ||||
| Swirl brownies | ||||
| Cooking time | ||||
| Sugar amount | ||||
| Flour amount | ||||
| Cooling time |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dry, cakey brownie | Overbaked, or too much flour | Bake a few minutes less; measure flour carefully |
| Raw middle that won't set | Underbaked or tin too small | Bake longer in a 20 cm tin; check the oven |
| No shiny crust | Sugar not beaten with eggs | Whisk the sugar and eggs well |
| Greasy brownie | Butter too hot, or too much | Cool the butter; measure |
| Falls apart when cut | Cut while warm | Cool completely or chill |
| Swirl blended to brown | Over-swirled | Swirl just two or three times |
Raw batter, hot oven and allergens
Raw batter: don't eat raw brownie, cake or cookie mixture. It contains raw egg and raw flour, which can carry harmful bacteria. Use eggs with the British Lion mark, wash your hands after handling raw egg, and bake it fully.Hot oven: use oven gloves, open the door away from your face, and put the tin on a heatproof surface. Don't leave the oven unattended, because chocolate bakes go from perfect to dry quickly, and every oven is a little different, so check early.
Allergens: chocolate contains milk (except some dark), and often soy (lecithin) and sometimes nuts or traces of them: check the label and the 'may contain' line. Cream, butter and many coatings are dairy, and cookies and biscuits contain wheat and often egg. Dairy-free dark chocolate and coconut cream can replace the dairy in many recipes, but the texture changes.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a one-bowl brownie batter.
- I can melt chocolate and cool it before adding eggs.
- I know when to take a brownie out of the oven.
- I can swirl two batters without blending them.
- I cool bakes fully before cutting.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Chocolate 1, chapter 6 is Cakes, Cookies and Warm Puddings: creaming, whisking, and a soft-centred fondant.