How to make brownies fudgy:

The secret ingredient for the ultimate fudgy brownies is melted chocolate! Adding both cocoa powder and melted chocolate ensures that your homemade brownies bake up ultra chocolatey and fudgy.

What is the best type of cocoa powder for making brownies?

The best cocoa powder for making brownies is dutch process cocoa powder! Since dutch process is alkalized, it is neutral rather than acidic, and is far richer in flavor than regular cocoa powder. I also added a little bit of black cocoa powder to make them even richer!

How to make brownies with a shiny top?

The key to getting that shiny top is beating the eggs and sugars together on high speed for 5-6 minutes until the mixture has doubled in size.

Can these brownies be made gluten free?

Yes, you can swap the flour for an equal amount of 1:1 gluten free flour.

Red Velvet Brownies

Description

These red velvet brownies are extra chocolatey, fudgy, and chewy, and bake up with that signature red, shiny crinkle top.

Ingredients

Scale

85g (½ cup; 3 oz) bittersweet chocolate
150g (¾ cup) light tasting extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red food gel
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
142g (⅔ cup) brown sugar
3 eggs (room temp)
2 tsp vanilla extract
120g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
63g (¾ cup) dutch process cocoa powder
21g (¼ cup) black cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
127g (¾ cup; 4.5 oz) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, add the bittersweet chocolate, olive oil, and red food gel. Place over a small saucepan of simmering water, and stir often until fully melted. Remove from the double boiler and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed for about 5-6 minutes until the mixture has doubled in size. Scrape down the bowl to make sure everything is properly combined.
While mixing on low speed, slowly pour in the chocolate oil mixture.
Once it is fully combined, add the flour, cocoa powders, and salt, and fold until mostly combined.
Lastly, fold in the chopped chocolate until evenly dispersed.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with an offset spatula.
Bake the brownies for about 35 minutes.
Allow them to cool completely in the pan before removing.
Cut into 16 squares, top with flaky sea salt, and enjoy!

Notes

Use a high-quality dairy free bittersweet chocolate. I recommend Guittard or Scharffen Berger.
Depending on how strong of an extra virgin olive oil flavor you want, you could use anything from light-tasting evoo to a full-bodied evoo. I used Filippo Berio light tasting evoo.
If you do not have black cocoa powder on hand, you can use a total of 84g (1 cup) dutch process cocoa powder instead.
Be sure to beat the sugars and eggs for a full 5-6 minutes! This is what will give the brownies that gorgeous shiny top.
When cutting the brownies, use a sharp knife and run it under hot water (and wipe clean) before each cut.

Keywords: red velvet brownies