Fudge Brownies
Fudgy, cakey, fudgy, cakey... can't make up your mind? If you're looking for a brownie that's right in between those two styles, you've found it. These brownies combine a fudge brownie's ultra-moist texture with a subtle cake-like rise, for the best of both worlds.
Our guarantee: These brownies, deep chocolate brown inside with a lighter-colored top crust, will be about 3/4" to 1" tall when cut. They'll be ultra-moist without crossing the line into gooey/underbaked.
Read our blog about these brownies, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Directions
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1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan |
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3) While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth. |
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4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth. |
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5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips. |
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Recipe summary
- Hands-on time:
- 12 mins.
- Baking time:
- 30 mins.
- Total time:
- 42 mins.
- Yield:
- Two dozen 2" brownies.
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- Recipe comments (162) »
Tips from our bakers
- When testing to see if brownies are done, take a cake tester or the tip of a sharp knife and carefully poke it into the center of the pan, digging around just enough to see the interior. You should see moist crumbs, but no uncooked batter. Yes, you'll be left with a small divot in the center of your brownies; just cut around it when you're cutting the brownies into squares.
- Want to make whole-grain brownies? Check out our recipe: Tasting is Believing Whole-Grain Brownies.
| Nutrition Facts | |
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Serving Size 1 brownie (63g)
Servings Per Batch 24 |
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| Amount Per Serving | |
| Calories 260 | Calories from Fat 130 |
| Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat | 17g |
| Saturated Fat | 8g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 55mg |
| Sodium | 130mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 36g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g |
| Sugars | 27g |
| Protein | 3g |
| * The nutrition information provided for each recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information. | |
Reviews
02/08/2010
As a baker who spent years looking for the perfect brownie, I would say, these are by far the BEST! The deep chocolate flavor coupled with that perfect shiny top! FANTASTIC! I made them several days ago and cut them out as hearts then drizzled with ganache-heaven. Today, my five kids and I are fighting over the scraps. Might have to mix them with some ice cream tonight and some KAF fudge sauce:) Thanks:)
02/06/2010
My best brownies yet! I usually am disappointed at overly fudgy, undercooked looking, super sticky brownies and end up throwing them out as the family won't eat them. Tonight, my son had 2 helpings, my husband enjoyed the 'crust', and my daughter love the leftover crumbs. I think that spells success! Still fudgy and yummy chocolatey (used ghirardelli cocoa) while still being a tad cakish. Just great! and not too tough to make!
02/06/2010
02/03/2010
I already had a brownie recipe that I loved, but the top wouldn't reliably come out shiny. So I decided to try this recipe and it did not disappoint. I weighed my ingredients and had no problem incorporating the cocoa into the eggs. My brownies took 25 minutes to bake and had the shiniest top ever! Tastewise, I did like them, but they were a bit sweet for me. But that's a matter of personal taste. I will make this recipe again, because the little extra work is worth it to me.
02/03/2010
I too had an awful time mixing the cocoa powder and egg "until smooth." And the baking time in the recipe seemed about 15 minutes too short. I am wondering if there might be differences in the moisture content in cocoa products. I use Van Houton cocoa powder, which usually gives me superb results. I am an experienced baker and followed the KA brownie recipe religiously--except for the baking time. (I followed the test for being done in the box beside the ingredients list.) The resulting bronies were very heavy--almost too heavy to cut. Alas! I did not have good results with this recipe at all.
There are a couple tips here that may help. Cooking the sugar and butter in the beginning of the recipe is crucial to get the top crust. Dutch process cocoa is also key for color and flavor. Sounds like you know this and baking time is the stumbling block. Once you know what works for your oven and brownie pan, make a note on the recipe so you can duplicate every time. Irene @ KAF
01/31/2010
My son prefers brownies over a cake to celebrate his birthday. I made this recipe for him today and it was a huge hit. Everybody loved it. I put a ganache layer on top to pretty it up, but it sure did not need it since it was very fudgey and moist. I also like the thickness, I don't like thin brownies. Definitely a keeper for those occassions when you're not counting calories or fat.
01/30/2010
I've made these brownies twice and my wife Kathi and I love them. She took some to where she works and everyone there said it's a keeper. Now I may never try another brownie recipe, they're that good.
01/25/2010
These are the BEST brownies ever. I have made these twice. The first time I only had regular cocoa on hand. Then I ordered a brownie pan and the dutch cocoa powder. I made the second batch today and the dutch cocoa powder really does make a difference on the flavor. And using a shiny metal pan really does make them come out evenly baked. No hard over baked edges.
01/22/2010
I have tried a variation on this that might be interesting to some bakers. I added 1 egg more and then on another batch added a second additional egg to see how much higher I could get these brownies without ending up with a too cake-like result. Adding 1 egg gave a slightly higher, lighter brownie. When I added 2 eggs, it was almost cake-like, but still moist and dense. PERFECT!
01/19/2010
First time baking these brownies and everything went fine except for melting the butter and sugar. Is is OK to use Sugar in the Raw? The finished product was weird. Never saw this before.I used a 9 X 13 baking stoneware and the outside edges of the brownie were almost burnt while the middle was like chocolate pudding! Maybe I need to try it again because I think we are at high altitude. This time I will follow the high altitude directions. Valentine's Day Delicious!
Sugar In The Raw is coarser than granulated and will dissolve differently. At altitude the temperature and ingredient adjustments will help. Try the recipe as written with the altitude adjustments first. Once you have a baseline established, then begin with ingredinet substutions. Frank @ KAF.

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