Easy Gooey Chocolate Brownies

^{**Some photos updated in 2021, Halloween 2022}

Proper Brownies

Now the reason my title includes ‘Proper Brownies’ is I see too often recipes claiming to be brownies, but are simply just chocolate cake squares, with basic cake instructions and no soft gooey centre.

Love them or hate them, brownies should not have a sponge texture through out and must have a ‘paper crust’ to the top. They are by no means pretty in the conventional meaning of the word, but if they have the true characteristics of a ‘proper’ brownie,(as described), these will be visible and people will be drooling – enter drooling emoji ?

Key To Perfect Brownies

Now getting these brownies right is by no means hard, and only takes a few minutes more of gentle mixing and getting out of the oven a bit sooner than if you were making a chocolate cake or tray bake. The secret is whisking the sugar and eggs for 5 minutes till mousse like, very pale in colour and with a noticeable increase in volume size.

So after this you don’t want to mix in as normal. The best way is to fold the other ingredients in the shape of an ‘8’. As if you were writing the number 8; where the spatula is your pen & the batter your paper. And in doing so, only until all the flour is no longer visible. Over mixing can also ruin the brownie texture you are looking for.

A Note On Ingredients

There is cocoa powder in the brownie and I use inexpensive dark (bitter) chocolate for the gooey centre chunks and it works well for these, with milk/semi-sweet chocolate melted and added to the batter. (Lidl or Aldi cheapest chocolate is fine for this). Note the brownies are very rich and go nicely with some ice-cream or whipped cream!

Gluten Free Gooey Brownies

I should point out too, that this recipe can also be used with GLUTEN FREE plain/all purpose flour and in the exact same amount, just bake a little longer.   Recipe to come to the new site.

Halloween Chocolate Brownies

Decorate your brownies for Halloween, with some sprinkles or decorate with a simple glaze. Pipe fine lines to make a spider’s web, or a few lines for bandages, and add on candy eyes to make a ‘Mummy Brownie’. All of these can be added once the brownies are cooled. Use some glaze or melted chocolate to stick the sprinkles and candy eyes in place. Cut the brownies into 16 pieces, and you can let the kids have fun, decorating them all differently.

Go to my Chocolate Orange Brownie Stack, or view my Browned Butter Hazelnut Brownie recipe.

Experienced Bakers

For experienced bakers, you can skip to the Recipe Card – an abbreviated version of the recipe, that you can also print. Click below:

Baking lessons students, download the detailed recipe below:

Without further ado, let’s get baking!

• Scales or measuring cups & spoons
• Knife
• Microwave safe bowl to hold butter & chocolate
• Microwave or stove top for melting
• Spoons (several)
• Mixing Bowl
• Sieve
• Stand/hand-held mixer
• OR bowl and hand whisk
• Timer or phone timer
• Plastic/silicone baking spatula
• Baking tin (approximately 23 x 23 cm (9in square). Don’t use too small a dish or it will take too long to cook.  You want the sum of the length + width to be about and not to exceed 46 cm (18 inches) or they will be too thin).
• Spray, lining paste or butter for greasing
• Baking paper/parchment
• Scissors & pen/pencil (optional)
• Cooling rack.
• OVEN: 180/160c Fan Oven/350f/Gas mark 4

• 185g  Butter, cubed & unsalted 
• (1 stick + 1/3c or 6.5 oz)
• 185g  Milk chocolate 
• (6.5 oz semi-sweet)
• 275g  Golden Granulated sugar 
• (1+ 1/3 c, 9.75 oz) OR 
• 75g Light Brown (1/3c, 2.5 oz)  &
• 200g  Granulated (1 c, 7 oz) 
• 3  Eggs (med-large)
• 85g Plain/AP Flour (2/3c, 3 oz)
• 40g  Cocoa (1/3c, 1.5 oz)
• 100g  Dark Chocolate 
• (3.5 oz bitter)

2. Weigh out the flour and cocoa through a sieve into another bowl. (Not the mixer bowl).

3. Oil or grease your baking tin and place baking paper/parchment inside it.  See photo 1  for how to cut your paper to fit.   I usually hold in position with cake lining paste. Read how to make some at home for baking and cooking – Cake Lining Paste

4. Next place the 3 eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk with a hand/stand mixer for approximately 4 – 5 mins, on medium to high speed. You want the mixture to become thick and cream like, paler in colour and increased in volume. See Photo 2 .

5. Now gently fold in the melted chocolate and butter mixture with a plastic or silicone baking spatula and do so in the shape of a number 8. Think of the batter as your paper and the spatula your pen.  Mixing too vigorously will undo all the whisking from earlier so it is to be avoided. Remember to scrape down the sides and tilt the bowl to make sure of getting to the bottom of the bowl (as the chocolate mixture will have sunk when added). Mix just until all mixed in and no more. See photo 3.

6.  Place the sieve over the mixing bowl and re-sieve the flour and cocoa mixture, into the batter.  See Photo 4.

7. Mix it in again like before until no flour is visible, and scraping down the sides too.   See photo 5.

8. Roughly chop the remaining 100g/3.5 oz dark/bitter chocolate and add to the mixture, folding in  lightly till evenly distributed.

9. Now carefully pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and level off if required.  See Photo 6.  Leave to sit so that it will form a crust later. (Leave at least 10 mins).

10. Heat up the oven to: 180/160c Fan oven/350f/Gas mark 4 while the brownie sits.

11. If the brownie has sat long enough, when you try to shake it, it won’t wobble too much. 

12. Bake for about 18 – 25 minutes, turning the tray every so often. I did so at the 15 minute mark and then checked every minute after that.   The top will had formed the crust, (see photo 7) and I inserted a tooth pick/cocktail stick to check if ready. The outer edges produce a clean stick whist the centre is a little moist with just a few crumbs. This is what we want.   Leave the brownies to sit to cool down in the tin for 5 minutes.  Then lift out using the paper and place on a cooling rack to cool down.  Leaving in the tin any longer, will cook the centre of the brownies and you won’t have a gooey centre.   

13. Once cool enough to cut, lift the paper onto a chopping board. Very gently and carefully, cut into 16 squares (or however many you want 🙂 Have a tea or cof fee and enjoy.  See Photo 8.

As an alternative, and when updating the end photos, I cut some into small bite-sized squares. I good trick for clean cut brownies is to chill when still a little warm or even leave at room temperature overnight. If cutting into bite-sized squares (about 1″/2.5cm), you will get about 64 pieces. See photos below.

14. Store in a tin an airtight container if there is any left. 

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Here’s the brownies made by my friend Diana, who tests a lot of my recipes for me. Her second time making them, she constructed into a tower for a birthday cake for her ‘brownie-loving’ son. See Photo, which has become one of the most saved pics on my Pinterest account. Check out my Chocolate Orange Brownie Stack

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DOWNLOAD full recipe lesson:

Readers’ Bakes & Feedback

Here’s a photo by reader Dianne B, who had this to say about my brownie recipe:

“I made Caro’s brownies today and they are fabulous! I highly recommend these! So rich and so good with vanilla ice cream. These brownies were a hit!”

Dianne B, FB GBBO Fans