Makes 16 squares
It’s no secret that I love brownies because the blog is full of them. Take for example, the Twix Brownies, the Mars Bar Brownies and let’s not forget those Salted Caramel Fudgy Brownies, and that’s just for starters. These were some of the first brownies that I ever baked, or at least blogged right after my thyroidectomy way back in 2011.
I don’t know about you but I bake my feelings. I bakewhen I’m happy, I bake when I’m sad, I bake when I’m bored and I bake when I’m mad. They certainly aided and abetted my post operative recovery that’s for sure!
Anyway, you can bake these brownies however you’re feeling and they will do the job just nicely. The best thing is you don’t have to wait for the butter to soften, you don’t need any fancy ingredients and everything you need is either in the larder or in the fridge so you can just grab and go.
I’ve since updated Donna’s original recipe because I had to test out my new camera lens, update the recipe with a new Thermomix conversion and show you my Mickey Mouse nails! One day when I made these I ran out of vanilla essence (I still don’t know how that happened!) and used vanilla paste instead. It tasted so good that I never went back to the vanilla essence even when I restocked, but use whatever tickles your tastebuds and/or whatever you have to hand!
Incidentally, these are also the perfect way to upcycle what’s left in your fridge the day before you go on holiday. Doesn’t everyone bake their feelings the day before they go away? Because baking withdrawal is totally a thing.
Ingredients
150g butter
270g caster sugar (or raw sugar for Thermomix)
75g cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3 eggs
75g plain flour
How to – Traditional
- Preheat oven to 160C / 140C fan-forced. Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
- Place the butter, sugar and cocoa in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the butter has melted.
- Spoon into a bowl and add the vanilla paste and eggs and whisk well.
- Fold in the sifted flour.
- Spoon the mixture into prepared tin.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until centre is just set, the crust is dull and the sides are coming away from edge of the tin.
- Cool the brownies in the tin and cut into squares.
How to – Thermomix
- Preheat oven to 160C / 140C fan-forced. Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
- If using, raw sugar, mill sugar for 7 seconds on speed 9.
- Add the butter and cocoa to TM bowl and melt for 5 minutes at 60 degrees on speed 2.
- Add the vanilla paste and eggs and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4.
- Add the flour and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides and base of bowl and then mix again for 5 minutes on speed 4.
- Spoon the mixture into prepared tin.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until centre is just set, the crust is dull and the sides are coming away from edge of the tin.
- Cool the brownies in the tin and cut into squares.
