These dark chocolate brownies are as rich and fudgy as you can get. They are impossibly smooth, decadent, and dare I say... a little bit sexy?
What I'm trying to say is that, if you're a chocolate lover, get ready to swoon. These brownies were created just for you.
This brownie recipe is for true chocolate lovers. Or for lovers who love chocolate. Whichever. Probably both.
Regardless, if you need a bit of love and chocolate in your life, add thee brownies to the menu. They are impossibly rich, decadent, and seductive. The kind of brownie that truly deserves to have the name fudge in the title.
These brownies contain a lot of chocolate. More than you thought you could pack into a brownie. So, it's important to splurge on the best chocolate you can find.
They are also so indulgent that one batch goes a long way. I generally cut them into small pieces, set a few out, store a few in the refrigerator, and pop the rest in the freezer for those times when I just want a bite or two of something intensely chocolaty and decadent.
In fact, you can eat these brownies directly from the freezer, which is my favorite way to eat them. Instead of than turning into ice cubes when frozen, they just get chewier and almost truffle-like.
This makes them the perfect brownies for brownie sundaes. You'll think you've transported yourself into some kind of chocolate lover's utopia, which of course you have. Enjoy it. Utopian moments are fleeting. Let's take them where we can, shall we?
xo
Recipe creation, development, and writing by Rebecca Blackwell.
Recipe testing and photography by Anne Blackwell.
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TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
What it is: These brownies are aaaalllll about the chocolate. They are rich, decadent, and deeply chocolate, almost like fudge.
How to eat them: My favorite way to eat these brownies is straight from the freezer. (Not that anyone could stop me from grabbing a freshly baked brownie straight from the pan.) Also, they are insanely good with ice cream and hot fudge.
Make ahead: Because these brownies can be eaten straight from the freezer they are the rockstars of make-ahead desserts. Cut them into squares and wrap them individually, then pull out however many you want whenever you want them.
Ingredient notes
- Since these brownies are all about the chocolate, let's start there. I like to use 70% cocoa Lindt chocolate bars for these. I buy them in bulk and keep a stack of them in the freezer. The most important thing is that you use chocolate that is high quality and tastes good to you. There's a LOT of chocolate in these brownies, so the quality matters.
- This recipe also includes some sour cream. I love using sour cream, yogurt, and buttermilk in baking because the high acid content is key to making baked goods as moist and tender as possible. In this recipe, I opted for sour cream because I wanted the richness of dairy without watering down the batter.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar: This recipe uses both because I wanted the extra moisture and molasses flavor from brown sugar and the slightly lighter crumb that granulated sugar brings to the table.
- Butter: This is an all-butter recipe because we are going all in on rich and fudgy. Since that's the goal, butter is where it's at.
- Espresso powder: Just 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder intensifies the chocolate flavor without making these brownies taste like coffee.
- Other likely suspects: Flour, eggs, vanilla, salt, and a bit of baking powder.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Prepare a 9x13 inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil and smearing the foil with some melted butter. Set the pan aside while you prepare the batter.
Put the flour, baking powder, salt and expresso powder in a small bowl and stir with a wire whisk to mix. Set aside.
Beat the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream just to mix using an electric mixer or a hand held whisk.
Add the butter to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it melts. Add the sugar and stir for a minute or two until it's partially melted. Turn the heat down to low, add the chocolate, and stir until melted.
Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and sour cream mixture slowly, whisking or beating on low speed as you add it. (*If you add it too fast, the eggs might scramble.)
Add the dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and set it in the oven to bake.
Bake until the brownies are pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly - but not completely - clean.
Because these brownies are so rich and fudgy, they have a tendency to stick to the foil. The easiest way to release them is to flip the entire pan of brownies out onto a cutting board or baking sheet covered with a piece of parchment or wax paper. Gently peel back the foil, then lay the foil back over the brownies and flip the whole thing over again.
Cut the brownies into squares and serve. These brownies will keep for several days in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Or wrap them individually and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serving suggestions
These can be served any which way you like them, plain or adorned, but I particularly like them sprinkled with a bit of powdered sugar (because it looks pretty) or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a generous spoonful of hot fudge.
Be still my beating heart.
A few more recipes for true chocolate lovers
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe and leave a comment for me.
Happy baking!
📖 Recipe
Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies
If you love brownies, get ready to swoon. You're about to fall head over heels for a recipe that is created for chocolate lovers. These dark chocolate brownies are as rich and fudgy as you can get. They are impossibly smooth, decadent, and packed with chocolate.
Ingredients
- 9 ounces (18 tablespoons/ 254 grams) salted butter, divided
- ½ cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, OR ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (152 grams/ 5.3 ounces) sour cream
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (160 grams) dark brown sugar
- 16 ounces really good semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into pieces about the size of chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300° F (149° C).
- Prepare a 9x13 inch pan as follows: Turn the pan upside down and cover it with a piece of aluminum foil. Press down on the sides and corners of the foil to shape it to the pan. Remove the foil, turn the pan right side up and situate the foil inside the pan to line it. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and, using a pastry brush or your fingers, coat the foil with butter. Set the pan aside.
- Put the flour, baking powder, salt and express powder (if using) in a small bowl and stir with a wire whisk to mix. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and sour cream just to mix. (You can also use a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Just don't over mix.) Set aside.
- Add the remaining 8 ounces (16 tablespoons) butter to a medium size sauce pan and cook over medium heat to melt the butter. Add both sugars and stir for 1 minute to partially melt the sugar. Turn the heat down to low, add the chocolate, and stir until melted.
- Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and sour cream mixture slowly, whisking constantly. You can also do this with a stand mixer: fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and slowly pour the chocolate into the egg and sour cream mixture with the mixer running on medium-low speed until completely combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until completely smooth. (Beat briefly with an electric mixer if stirring isn't getting the batter smooth.)
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the brownies are pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly - but not completely - clean. (Check the brownies after 1 hour of baking.)
- Let stand at room temperature until completely cool. Then, center a baking sheet or cutting board over the pan and flip the whole thing over so that the brownies are resting upside down on the baking sheet or cutting board. Gently remove the foil then lay it back over the brownies and flip the whole thing right side up. Cut into squares and serve or wrap individually and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Tip! These brownies are easier to cut when they're cold, so cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator or freezer for an hour or so before cutting into squares.
- How to store these brownies: Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator, in an air tight container, for up to 1 week, or wrap individually and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1 brownieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 219Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 175mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 3g
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Gail says
Made these this afternoon after a friend commented he was craving brownies. These are amazing. Also forgiving because I had everything BUT sour cream and i used mayo instead. I remembered my mom used to make a dark chocolate sheet cake and mayo was the "secret" ingredient. I made a half-batch as a test, used an 8x8 pan and they were perfect at 60 minutes. Many thanks for all your wonderful recipes. I need to write reviews for a half-dozen!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear that you liked these brownies Gail! And I LOVE knowing that they work out well with mayo. I honestly wouldn't have guessed that mayo would have worked out as a substitution. Now I need to make a batch just to try it myself. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I truly appreciate knowing that you're getting some use out of the recipes you find her. Thank you thank you! xo
Emily Rowell says
Greek yogurt is a good substitute for sour cream also, I use it any time a baking recipe calls for sour cream because we always have it and I don’t buy sour cream. I made a half batch of these because I only had two eggs and my family fell in love with this recipe. Only brownie recipe I’ll be using. Actually forgot to copy it down and ended up searching 2 weeks of my browser history just to find it again. It’s that good!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe so much Emily! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment, especially with the tip about using greek yogurt. I truly appreciate it! xo
Judith Bowman says
Just made these and my husband's one word comment: Exceptional. I agree. I love that they are soooo chocolaty, have the beautiful sheen on top, and are not cloyingly sweet. I made them with a combination of semi sweet and dark chocolate. I resisted making them for Valentines Day since hubby and I are both trying to watch our weight, but when I considered the fact that they will keep well in the freezer, into the oven they went. Now I say keep well because they may not last very long...
Rebecca Blackwell says
I am so happy to hear that you and Jeff liked these! These have been my go-to brownies for years because they are so chocolaty and delicious straight from the freezer. I hope they helped make your Valentines Day even more enjoyable. xo
Darjee says
Thanks for the vote of confidence! They certainly don't look as pretty as yours, but I couldn't wait for them to cool before I started eating them!????
Darjee says
I made them with my daughter . Omg yum!!!!
Subbed fage for sour cream, triple sec instead of vanilla, whole wheat pastry flour instead of white, both sugars regular with a 1.5 tsp of molasses.
(All stuff I had too bc it's what I had)
I just ate six of them. That probably was 3 too many, but I was weak!!
Delicious!!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I just LOVE that you didn't let the fact that you didn't have all the ingredients on hand stop you from making these! It's baking at it's best. Use what you have and bake what you love. Also - adding triple sec is GENIUS. I am totally doing that the next time I make these. Maybe tomorrow. 🙂
Cream and Cocoa says
These look SO good!!! Definitely putting this on my list of things to make next.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Great! I can't wait to hear how you like them. My favorite way to eat them is straight from the freezer, actually. They don't get hard when frozen - only even more dense and fudgy. 🙂 Thank you for your comment!xo
Picknick Den Haag says
Need to make these immediately! My mouth is watering!