Small Batch Brownie Recipe ‘Lockdown Brownies’
I call these lockdown brownies as they’re are perfect if you want to bake something sweet, but don’t want to make a whole batch and end up eating a whole batch in a day or eating a brownie every single day for two weeks. When I spotted these little foil trays in Waitrose they instantly made me want to work out an easy mini-batch brownie recipe to share with you - especially as we’re in this seemingly never-ending lockdown and who knows when we’ll be baking for friends again. This list of ingredients makes a basic small-batch chocolate brownie that’s dense and fudgey in the middle with the classic brownie crust on top. Here I’ve added some bars of Kinder chocolate and you could easily add some of your favourite chocolate to make things interesting. A bag of chopped up mini eggs or some chocolate orange segments submerged in the middle always work well.
These small-batch brownies make 4-6 portions depending on the serving size but they keep well in an airtight container for up to a week. If you want to make a big old batch of brownies then you can’t get much better than these salted caramel brownies.
INGREDIENTS
Makes: 4/6 brownies depending on your portion sizes
Skill: Easy
Time: 10 minutes prep, 20 cooking + cooling
75g Butter
60g Dark chocolate
75g Sugar (I use 25g soft light brown sugar and 50 golden caster sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
2tsp cocoa powder
50g Plain flour
1 pinch salt
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 170 fan.
Melt the butter in a heavy-based large saucepan on medium heat or in a double boiler and while its melting break up the chocolate into small pieces. When the butter has melted add the chocolate and stir gently until the chocolate has melted then set aside to cool.
Whisk together the sugar and eggs until they’re thick and creamy and have doubled in volume. I use a stand mixer but a handheld whisk will work well too. Something like this is cheap and a great investment to make your life easier in the kitchen.
Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the sugar and eggs and gently mix together so you don’t knock out all the air. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold together until you have a glossy cholate mixture.
Pour the brownie mix into your tray (the disposable ones don’t need greasing or lining) and bake for 20 minutes in the middle of the oven. If you want to add extra chocolate as I have here, pour in half of the mixture then dot around some of the chocolate and top with the remaining brownie mix and finish with more chocolate.
Leave to cool completely before cutting.