Ben is baking brownies with Café-Tasse dark Chocolate

Ben sent us his brownie recipe, and it has one particular feature: the chocolate goes in twice. Melted into the batter, then in chunks added at the end, which stay whole during baking. That is what makes the difference between a decent brownie and one you go back to for a second slice.

Ingredients for 8 to 10 pieces

• 200 g Café-Tasse dark chocolate
• half an 85 g bar, for the chunks
• 170 g butter
• 230 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100 g flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Preparation: 20 minutes  •  Baking: 23 minutes at 180 °C  •  Tin: 25 cm  •  Difficulty: easy

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and butter a 25 cm tin.
2. Melt the 200 g of chocolate with the butter, in a bain-marie or in the microwave in 20-second bursts. Stir until smooth and leave to cool slightly.
3. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is frothy and pale. This step gives the thin, crackly crust on top: do not cut it short, allow a good three minutes.
4. Pour the lukewarm melted chocolate over the eggs and fold in with a spatula, lifting the mixture.
5. Add the flour and cocoa together and fold in the same way, without working the batter more than necessary.
6. Break the half bar into irregular chunks and stir them in.
7. Pour into the tin and bake for 23 minutes.

The chocolatier's tip

With brownies, every minute counts. At 20 minutes the centre is runny, at 23 minutes it is fudgy, at 28 minutes it is a chocolate cake — good, but no longer a brownie. The reliable test is not the colour but the knife: it should come out with moist batter clinging to it, never clean.

Second point: let it cool completely in the tin before cutting. A warm brownie crumbles; a cold brownie slices cleanly. If you are in a hurry, fifteen minutes in the fridge will do.

Which Café-Tasse chocolate to choose

Ben uses our 77% dark: with 230 g of sugar in the batter, a very cocoa-rich chocolate balances the whole. That is the choice we recommend.

The 60% dark gives a milder brownie with broader appeal, which children tend to prefer. For the chunks added at the end, you can mix the two — that is where you taste the difference in cocoa percentage most, since they do not melt.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make the batter ahead?

Yes, up to 24 hours in the fridge, covered with cling film. Take it out 30 minutes before baking and add 2 to 3 minutes to the baking time.

How long do they keep?

Four to five days in an airtight tin at room temperature. Brownies are even better the next day, once the chocolate has fully set. They freeze very well, cut into pieces.

Can I make them without flour?

Replace the 100 g of flour with 100 g of ground almonds. The texture becomes denser and moister, and the recipe becomes suitable for a gluten-free diet — provided you check the label of every ingredient.