fudge cocoa brownies

So. I have this amazing brownie recipe. It’s been tried and tested literally dozens of times and makes the moistest, fudgiest brownies, and every single person I’ve made it for has raved about it. The recipe uses good quality dark chocolate (Lindt or Green & Black, at a minimum) and I’ve always believed that the beautiful chocolate is what made it so deliciously rich.

And then the other day, my friend tells me that she’s made a super rich, super fudgey brownie using just cocoa powder? Say what??

I was curious, because I love brownies – especially fudgey ones – and hey, I’m just doing my due diligence, right? And because my kids also love the brownies I make, I thought I’d look into the cocoa powder version, which is theory is “lighter” and somewhat “healthier” than my other version.

Ok, now really what?! Did I just talk about health and brownies in the same breath? Because let’s be real, if you’re eating brownies (and I’m talking full fat, not this healthy version), there ain’t nothing healthy about that.

So anyway, I checked out this recipe from Cafe Delites and baked a batch today following the recipe almost to a tee… and guys, it’s fudgey. It’s rich. It’s all the things I want it to be and it did not use any chocolate. I’m impressed, so give it a shot if you’d like to make cocoa brownies! Note: I used less sugar, and more salt, and added walnuts and salted coconut flakes on top as I wanted to make a salted choc version 🙂

Also, PSA, Woolworths Macro toasted coconut flakes with sea salt is legit LIKE CRACK get your hands on some stat!

Fudgey cocoa brownies with sea salt and coconut
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup castor sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Handful of walnuts, chopped
Handful of coconut flakes
Sprinkling of sea salt
1. Pre-heat oven to 175°C/350°F (fan forced). Line an 8-inch square pan with baking paper and set aside. 
2. Beat melted butter, olive oil and sugar together until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and creamy.
3. Sift in flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix using a wooden spoon not an electric mixer until just combined. Add in walnuts and stir through. 
4. Pour batter into pan, scatter coconut flakes on top and sprinkle additional sea salt.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes. Check the brownie at 20 minutes, and 1 minute intervals thereafter. A skewer inserted needs to come out dirty for a fudgey brownie.
6. Once done, leave to cool and the brownie will set a little more. Once cooled, cut into 16 pieces.
Makes 16 pieces.

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