Deep Chocolate Chip Brownies

Last weekend I was in the mood for brownies. I wanted them to be simple, no nonsense, pure, thick, moist and very chocolaty. I went on a brownie blog hunt and came across David Lebovitz’s blog which featured the most incredible looking Dulce de Leche brownies. They weren’t quite what I was after but I saved the recipe and carried on hunting. However, I couldn’t get those Dulce de Leche brownies out of my mind, they just looked so indulgent and the perfect sort of texture I was craving, so I decided to adapt the recipe slightly and just make the brownie part sans the Dulce de Leche. I know some people who will think I am crazy for doing this but I didn’t want to taste anything other than chocolate in my brownies.

The recipe was very quick and easy to put together. I liked how it made use of a good quantity of dark chocolate as well as some cocoa powder to ensure they were truly chocolaty. I also added some white chocolate chips to my batter as I like to see them dotted throughout the brownie once sliced.

The resulting brownies were fabulous! About an inch deep (wow!) and with a gorgeous moist texture and certainly packed with rich chocolate flavour. They had a paper thin crisp sugary top which I feel is always the mark of a good brownie.

They were divine when eaten still ever so slightly warm, the white chocolate chips still a little soft and melty. Pure chocolate indulgence. I wouldn’t say they were my ultimate brownie as I like mine to have a bit of chew to them also, but they were very close! I found the following day they had gone a little more cakey but they were still very fudgy and delicious. I’m definitely going to be trying out the Dulce de Leche version sometime soon.

Deep Chocolate Chip Brownies
(Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's blog)

Ingredients
115g butter
150g dark chocolate 60-70%
25g cocoa powder
3 eggs
200g caster sugar
120g plain flour
75g white chocolate chips (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Line an 8 inch/20cm square pan with a long sheet of foil that covers the bottom and reaches up all four sides. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the foil with a bit of melted butter or oil.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Break up the chocolate and add to the pan, stirring constantly over a low heat until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, followed by the flour. Finely stir in the chocolate chips if using but do not mix for long or else they will melt into the batter.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the brownies form a light crisp surface and they feel slightly firm to the touch. A skewer inserted should come out with a few sticky crumbs attached, but no molten mixture.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature in the tin before using the foil to help you lift the brownies out of the tin. Cut into 12 squares.
Delicious eaten within a few hours when they are very soft, moist and the chocolate chips are still slightly gooey. They turn more fudgy and cake-like the next day.