Melt butter and 100 g of sugar in a saucepan at low heat.
Whisk remaining sugar with eggs and egg yolk in a separate bowl.
Slowly add the warm butter mixture into the egg mixture little by little and mix until completely combined.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into the mixture with half of the pecans and chocolate. Fold the mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Line a 22 x 22 cm baking tray with baking paper and pour the batter into it. Smooth the surface and top with rest of the chocolate and pecans.
Bake for 25–30 minutes. The surface should be shiny and a bit cracked – and the cake slightly soft in the middle and not completely baked.
Let the brownie cool in the tin on a baking rack be before cutting it.
WHAT IS A BROWNIE?
A chocolate brownie – or simply a brownie – is a baked chocolate cake. The traditional brownie is crusty on top and fudgy in the middle, but you can also make more cakey variations if you prefer.
Brownies may include chocolate chips, nuts, vanilla, etc. Some people also make brownies with frosting or icing on top.
In short, a brownie is a piece of heaven you can modify to make it fit your personal preferences.
EASY HOMEMADE BROWNIES FROM SCRATCH
We give you a brownie recipe that lets you make the most delicious brownies: a perfect crust on top and amazingly gooey in the middle.
In this brownie recipe we use cocoa powder, chocolate chunks, and pecan nuts to obtain a great balance of soft, chewy, and crisp.
BROWNIE VARIATIONS
You can easily modify the recipe to make your own brownie recipe with your favourite ingredients. Here below we give you some ideas to different brownie variations – which all are perfect excuses for making brownies often.
Brownies with peanut butter are extra sinful, but also extra delicious. The peanut butter takes your brownie to a new level of softness and sweetness.
Brownie with ice cream is a classic! A warm brownie served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream is an all-time favourite. You can also add fresh berries and fruit if you want to balance the sweet.
Brownies with nuts is almost as common as brownies without nuts. We use pecan nuts in this brownie recipe, but you can use whichever nuts you prefer. They all break the soft and chewy chocolate brownie, so it does not just disappear in your mouth. Try mixing bigger and smaller pieces of nuts to make the eating experience more interesting.
Brownies with chocolate chips: In this brownie recipe we use chocolate chunks. If you prefer, you can replace the chocolate chunks with chocolate chips for a more homogenous texture.
Brownies with cocoa powder. We use cocoa powder in our brownie recipe. You can replace this and the chocolate with brown sugar and vanilla to make a so-called blondie.
You can also change the shape of the brownie. A traditional brownie is made in a square cake tin, but you can use whatever cake tin or mould you have. As long as the size is roughly the same, you can expect roughly the same baking time.
You can also make brownie cupcakes. If you do, it is important to watch the baking time thoroughly. When you make smaller cakes – cupcakes or small moulds – the baking time is reduced accordingly, so make sure not to over bake the little treasures.
Some people prefer making brownie without eggs. This is absolutely doable and there are several possible alternatives. For example, for each egg in this recipe you can use ½ a mashed banana or ¼ cup applesauce, yogurt, or buttermilk as a substitute.
FROSTING AND TOPPINGS FOR BROWNIE
A traditional brownie does not have anything on top. The delicious cake can easily stand on its own, but if you like decoration and want to add something extra to your brownie, why not cover it in a delicious frosting with vanilla, chocolate or strawberry?
You can also decorate it with fresh fruits and berries to bring colour to the dark cake and add a sprinkle of freshness to the taste experience.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR BROWNIES
We have collected our best hacks for making a perfect brownie:
Mixing: When you whisk butter and sugar do not try to save time here. Make sure that you whisk very well to get a light and fluffy substance – you will thank yourself for spending the extra minutes here, when you take a brownie with the perfect texture out of the oven.
The same goes for the eggs. Beat in the eggs separately and whisk well for at least one minute. This brings more air to the dough, which is good for the final result.
Butter: To get the characteristic crackly top on the brownie, make sure that your butter is melted and warm, when you mix it with eggs and sugar. Lurpak® unsalted butter is a good choice for brownies when you want a delicious, crispy top and a soft, fudgy middle.
Baking – when is a brownie done? It is never a good idea to over bake a cake, but it is extra important when working with brownie. In this brownie recipe we say 25-30 minutes, but all ovens bake differently, so your brownie may be done in, for example, 22 minutes instead. It is difficult to know when a brownie is done but keep an eye on it and check the middle with a skewer or a fork. You will want a little dough to stick to the skewer – this gives you a fudgy and mouth-watering brownie.
