Supremely Chewy, Fudgy, Chocolate Brownies (The Old Reliable)

I wasn't originally going to post this recipe, because in all honesty who doesn't have 145 different brownie recipes bookmarked? (I may have a minor crush on this homely dessert) I've tried my fair share of brownie recipes, and then somebody elses share, and probably some other dude's share too. I have an appreciation for the over top, heart-stopping (almost literally), multi-faceted brownies that almost make you sugar-drunk merely by looking at them. BUT. Time and time again I find myself coming back to this recipe, the old reliable, my never fail. It's a brownie recipe delicious in it's pure simplicity. No frills, honest to goodness chocolate and it's all the better for it. As such, you absolutely must use the best chocolate you can get your brownie-loving hands on, no ifs, buts or maybes.

This recipe is an adaptation of a David Lebovitz recipe. Let me be upfront and say I adore this man's recipes like they were my own little recipe nephews and recipe nieces. I've made a good chunk of his creations and the only time I've been let down was when I wandered off the path and didn't follow the directions provided.

If you have your heart set on amping it up, mix-ins I'd recommend are: roasted hazelnuts, cherries, raspberries, chocolate-coated coffee beans or swirl in some home made caramel sauce before baking.

I'll warn you now, these are rich. Correction, these are super rich. They're claggy and dense with a film of chewiness on the outside. There's nothing cakey or timid about these bad boys. Serve them in small portions. And, if you've dirtied all your dishes from 'food blog baking', feel free to eat them straight off the baking paper they were cooked on. No judgement here my friend.

Supremely Chewy, Fudgy, Chocolate Brownies

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's 'Robert's Absolute Best Brownies', Ready for Dessert, p. 196

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 9-12

Ingredients

• 85g butter
• 35g very good quality milk chocolate (I used Whittaker's 33% Cocoa Creamy Milk)
• 190g very good quality dark chocolate (I used Whittaker's 72% Dark Ghana)
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (you won't taste it but it'll add depth)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 35g plain flour

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180C. Generously grease an 8 inch square cake tin, line with baking paper and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan melt the butter, take off the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate's completely dissolved.
3. Add the sugar, vanilla and coffee. Stir until combined. In a small bowl whisk the eggs then stir these into the chocolate mix.
4. Add the flour and stir like crazy for 1 full minute. Do not skip this step or count quickly, the brownie gods are watching and they will smite you.
5. Once the batter is no longer grainy but is instead glossy and silky pour it into the prepared cake tin. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the center is just set (I baked mine for 20 minutes and they were mega fudgy).
6. Let them cool in the tin completely before you attempt to remove them. In order to cut them neatly I fridged them for about an hour so they were quite solid and easily sliced. Make sure they come to room temperature before devouring them. Enjoy!