One savvy home cook has revealed a clever baking method for delicious brownies that use only cocoa powder.
Bars of chocolate seems like the most important ingredient for rich, fudgy brownies, but it’s not essential according to food blogger Lucy.
Sharing a recipe on her blog Bake Play Smile, she said: “Thick and chewy, my one-bowl cocoa brownies are a chocolate lover’s dream! They feature a gloriously crackly top and a soft, fudgy centre.”
Lucy claimed that the results have the same “intense chocolate flavour” of traditional brownies, but are made without it.
She credited the irresistible taste and texture to the addition of “good quality, dark cocoa powder”, like this deeply chocolatey Tesco Cocoa Powder, £2.75, or Dr Oetker, sold in Morrisons for £3.15.
How to make Lucy’s brownies
First, preheat the oven to 180C/160C (fan-assisted), then line a 20cm square tin with baking paper. It may help to grease the tin a little first to ensure the paper sticks.
Next, microwave the butter in a suitable container or bowl in the microwave for around one minute, then, when liquidised and golden, remove it from the appliance.
Add the caster sugar and sift in the rich cocoa powder before stirring well to combine the ingredients.
Heat the mixture in the microwave on 30-second bursts at 50 percent power until the caster sugar has dissolved.
Stir between each interval in the microwave then leave the doughy batter to cool slightly before adding the vanilla extracts and eggs to the bowl.
Whisk everything together to make a loose batter then sift the flour into the bowl and gently stir it through. Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Remember, brownies will continue to cook after they’ve been removed from the oven so it’s best to remove them when they are slightly under, rather than overcooked.
Lucy said: “All ovens differ slightly, so start to check them at the 20-minute mark and then in five-minute intervals until they are ready.”
For extra fudgy brownies, remove them from the oven when the sides have begun to shrink away from the tin but the centre is still gooey.
