Professional reference formula

Yield: one lined rectangular pan; cut only after cooling.

  • 350 g caster sugar
  • 80 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 60 g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 whole eggs, lightly beaten
  • 200 g unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 200 g dark chocolate, chopped

Method

  • Line the pan and preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F fan or 180°C / 356°F conventional.
  • Combine sugar, cocoa, flour and baking powder evenly.
  • Mix in the eggs, melted butter and vanilla only until homogeneous, then fold in the chopped chocolate.
  • Spread level and bake until the edges are set and the centre remains moist but no longer fluid, approximately 30–35 minutes depending on pan dimensions.
  • Cool completely before portioning for clean cuts and final texture.

Identity and legitimate range

Brownie is a chocolate bar cake with a legitimate fudgy-to-cakey spectrum. Flour, egg, dissolved sugar, chocolate solids, fat and final bake all move the result along that spectrum.

A molten chocolate cake is a separately portioned hot dessert with a deliberately fluid centre; it should not be merged into the brownie identity.

Critical controls

  • State pan dimensions because depth changes the doneness window.
  • Avoid vigorous aeration when targeting a dense fudgy crumb.
  • Do not judge by a clean skewer; that endpoint commonly overbakes a fudgy brownie.
  • Cool before cutting because the centre continues to set as fat and chocolate crystallise.

Evidence status

external_evidence; not Tanya Novak's verified brownie.