The mere mention of chocolate brownie fills my mind with the picture of a pure, unadulterated, gooey, rich chocolate that sinfully satisfies chocolate cravings while tempting me to ingest more than is wise.

However, over the years of my experimenting with a number of chocolate brownie recipes, the following one is the one I loved the most because it celebrates the classic chocolate brownie in its fudgy goodness, unlike the many cakey versions I have tried earlier.

The key difference lies in our expectations for the brownie.

If we’re hoping for a dense with a crisp crust, hiding within, the fantasies of a chocolate lover being messy, dark, seductive with no room to breathe (read air, as seen in the rather fluffed cakey version). The ingredient (as you must have guessed by now) missing is sodium bicarbonate that is usually used in cake recipes.

However, as I made use of two square pans to bake this batch of brownies and my oven (after its repair last year) has been, to my utter dislike, unevenly heating in different areas, the surface did get a few dark patches despite my constant vigil. This explains the differences in the thickness of the slices too. However, there’s no compromise on the richness or the taste.

Dig in and get baking the sinful chocolate walnut brownies.

Chocolate Walnut Brownies: 

Servings: 25 brownies

Difficulty Level: Easy

Ingredients: 

• Dark Cooking Chocolate – 375 gram
• Butter – 375 gram
• Eggs (large) – 6
• Castor Sugar – 500 gram
• All Purpose Flour – 225 gram
• Salt – 1/2 Tsp
• Vanilla essence – 1 tbsp
• Walnuts (coarsely chopped) – 250 gram

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
2. Line a rectangular baking dish of approximately 13 x 9 x 2 inches dimension or two 8-inch square baking pans with baking paper or with foil. While pouring the mixture take due care to pour only up to 2 inches in height.
3. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large, thick-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Make sure you do not bring it to a boil.
4. In a large bowl beat eggs, castor sugar and vanilla essence till all sugar dissolved and the mix has a creamy consistency.
5. Measure the all-purpose flour in another bowl and add salt.
6. When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool down for 5 minutes, gently whisking to allow uniform cooling. Now beat it in the egg and sugar mixture.
7. Add the coarsely chopped walnuts and flour and gently beat to combine well.
8. Pour the mixture into lined baking pan. Gently tap and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the stick inserted comes out clean.
9. When ready, the top should be dried, paler brown speckled but the middle still dark, dense and gooey.
10. Keeping a check on the brownies as they cook is important because they will continue to cook even as they cool. So overcooking in the oven must be avoided.
11. Cool completely in a baking dish or on a wire rack. Cut into squares or rectangles. This recipe makes approximately 25 brownies.

Serving suggestion:

Serve warm (I usually microwave the refrigerated brownie for 20 seconds before serving) drizzled with chocolate syrup for added indulgence. I have used the Hershey’s chocolate syrup, however, you can even prepare it at home using cocoa powder, butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla essence.

Find more recipes from my kitchen here.