Fudgy Brownies (small Batch)

  Fudge Brownies.  Everyone has their favorite brownie recipe and I am no different.  My favorite recipe is my Fudge Walnut Brownies, which I have been baking for years and years. You can find that recipe here. 
It is the brownie recipe that I used to bake for my children and it is the brownie recipe that used to be often requested when I worked at the Manor.  It is quite simply  the best chewy fudge brownie recipe going. 

Its just not practical for me to bake a whole pan of brownies these days.  As a singleton living on my own, I cannot be trusted with that many brownies!  Far too dangerous!
I decided to work at downsizing my recipe so that it made a much smaller amount.  The end result is this small-batch fudgy brownie recipe. Built for only two or one as it were.
 These are dense and moist, rich and chocolatey.  Just what a perfect brownie should be.  I have eaten many a brownie in my day, and I declare these perfect.
I have my own ideas about what constitutes a really good brownie.  I am always surprised when I see people cooking brownies and declaring them perfect when they are only a mass of sludge and goo.
 A good brownie should not be a mass of sludge and goo. You should be able to totally pick up a good brownie in your hands.
Yes, they should be dense and fudgy.  Moist and rich.  Never runny or under-cooked. You should not ever need a spoon to eat one.

I had occasion to attend a cookery show in London one time.  As an invited guest I was asked to bring in a recipe that I had cooked at home.  There were several celebrity chef's in this particular show.
The Tanner Brothers and Paul Rankin.  There was also a celebrity guest. Vanessa Phelps.  One of the things they cooked was brownies.  They actually had a brownie bake-off and I have to say, in all honesty I could have taught them a thing or two about baking brownies!
 All of their brownies were the absolute worst brownies I have ever seen or tasted.  They were masses of gooey chocolate sludge.  Maybe it is just impossible to bake a good brownie in the time that they had to bake them in.
But I was singularly un-impressed. Totally disappointed.  Surely they could do better than that, and if they didn't have enough time, they would have been much better served to have baked something which could be done properly in the time alloted.
 This brownie recipe of mine always turns out.  ALWAYS! Each and every time you are assured of the perfect brownie.  So long as you follow my instructions.  Even this small batch recipe.
One thing to remember when making brownies is to not overmix them.  Once you have the chocolate melted and the sugar, eggs, etc. stirred in, you simply need to fold in the flour.
 Make sure, of course, that no streaks of white flour remain in the batter.  But don't overmix by any stretch.  This will result in a tough brownie.
Also don't over-bake them. Not unless you want a more cake-like finish to your brownie. Overbaking is as huge a no-no as is under-baking them.
 As you can see, these are lovely and dense.  Not cake-like.  Not gooey or oozy.  Extremely fudgy.  I did not add walnuts to these like I normally do.
Instead I opted to sprinkle a few mini chocolate chips on top.  You could always fold in some chocolate chips/chunks and toasted nuts, if that is the way you enjoy your brownies.

Perfectly cooked brownies will have a shiny, glossy surface, and these did.  I dusted them with icing sugar for photography purposes.  
The truth is dark things, chocolate things, etc. never photograph really well. The camera does not like them.  Adding something like a dusting of icing sugar helps them to photograph a lot better.
I hope you will forgive me for that. 😉

I am sure you will.  Especially once you sink your teeth into one of these delicious babies.  I am so happy I only made a small batch.  I am having a hard time resisting them.  I can only imagine the damage done to my hips had I baked a full batch! 
If you would like to check out all of my brownie recipes, you can find them here. You will need to scroll back through the pages, but not a problem if you like brownies I can assure you.
There is quite a variety to choose from.  And I can assure you every one of them is delicious, a tried and true, perfect bake. 
In the meantime, if you are looking for smaller sized, brownie perfection, you have come to the right place. Enjoy!
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Fudgy Brownies

Yield: makes 8Author: Marie RaynerPrep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 MinI small batched my favorite brownie recipe to make the perfect size for the smaller family. These are rich, fudgy and delicious. Moist and chewy. Take care not to overbake.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 ounces (100g) good quality semi sweet chocolate chips (scant 2/3 cup)
• 4 TBS butter, cut in four pieces
• 1 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder (not chocolate drink mix)
• 1/2 cup + 2 TBS (120g) sugar
• 1 large free range egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (70g) all purpose plain flour
• a small handful of mini chocolate chips to sprinkle on top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4.  
2. Line an 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch loaf tin with some aluminum foil, using two sheets of foil placed perpendicular to each other in the tin, and pushing it firmly into the corners. Leave an overhang in order to better lift the baked brownies out. Butter the foil really well. 
3. Melt the chocolate chips and butter together over medium low heat in a saucepan. whisking until melted and smoothly amalgamated. Whisk in the cocoa powder.  Leave to cool to lukewarm.
4. Whisk in the sugar, salt, egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract to combine.  Fold in the flour.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, spreading it out to the corners and smoothing over the top. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips evenly over all.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.  Rotate the pan halfway through the bake time. The surface will be shiny when done.
7. Leave to cool completely in the pan. (I leave them overnight so I can cut them neater.)
8. Remove from the pan and peel off the foil. Cut into rectangles or squares to serve.
9. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Notes:

1. These can be baked in a 9 X 5 inch loaf tin, but will be done about 5 minutes sooner.
2. Take care not to overbake or your brownies will be more cake-like rather than fudgy.

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