One-Bowl Fudge Brownie Recipe

Do we  need another fudge brownie recipe? The better question is—Do you love brownies? 

If yes, then you owe it to yourself to bake this. Made with bittersweet chocolate, this gooey-in-the-center and crisp-on-the-outside brownie is the perfect combination of everything.

Why I love this brownie recipe:

1. It doesn’t require any special equipment.
2. You effectively* only need one medium heatproof bowl and a spatula to prepare this. [Unless you like to prepare the mise en place for a few ingredients like below. But really, you don’t need to.]
3. This is perfect for last-minute brownie cravings because it uses readily available ingredients.

What makes it different?

The baking method of high heat and “flash cooling” with an ice bath. This combination creates a crisp and crunchy crust while maintaining the fudgy center. Absolutely worth giving it a try at the very least.

Print Recipe

Last Minute Craving One Bowl Fudgy Brownie Recipe

If you like your brownies fudgy inside and crisp and solid outside, look no further

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Cooling time25 mins

Course: Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16

Equipment

• 8"x8" square metal baking pan
• Larger pan to create an ice bath for the 8"x8" baking pan
• Aluminum foil for lining the inside of the baking pan

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cups (113 grams) 70% bittersweet dark chocolate chunks or chips
• 1 1/8 cups (225 grams) granulated white sugar**
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) unbleached all purpose flour

Instructions

• Line the 8"x8" baking pan with aluminum foil. The easiest way to form the foil is to mold and fold the whole piece over the outer side of the pan, then place it inside.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F and place the baking rack 1/3 of the way from the bottom.
• Completely melt butter and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl propped over a saucepan of simmering water (about an inch high of water). Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir occasionally for faster melting.
• As soon as the butter and chocolate are melted, set bowl on the counter. Mix in sugar, vanilla extract, and salt using a spatula.
• Stir in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
• Fold the flour into the mixture and then stir vigorously to achieve a consistently smooth and glistening batter. It will start to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Pour the batter into the baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Level the top and bake for 20 minutes.
• Fifteen (15) minutes into baking (or 5 minutes before the baking time is over), prepare the ice bath: add ice cubes in the bigger pan and fill with water halfway from the bottom.
• Remove the pan from the oven and immediately (but carefully) place into the ice water bath. Avoid splashing water into the brownies.
• Let it cool completely in the ice bath. Ease the aluminum foil with brownie out of the pan, peel the foil off and place on a cutting board for cutting and serving.

Notes

The original recipe, called "Steve Ritual Brownies" comes from Alice Medrich's book, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies. If you love baking cookies and bars like I do, this is a must-have book. The recipes work and they are wonderfully indexed, including by categories (e.g. egg-free).

 

** The original recipe called for 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar, which I usually cut down by 1/8 cup. If you don't want them too sweet, you can reduce it more up to 1/3 cup. I haven't tried it with a sugar substitute.