Walnut Brownies with Cocoa Powder

Ingredients

• Dry Ingredients: unsweetened cocoa powder, milk chocolate chips, plain flour (all-purpose flour), walnuts, baking powder and salt.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds a lovely flavour.
• Milk: I have used dairy milk. Feel free to use any plant-based milk.
• Sweetener: Light soft brown sugar has been used here as it is damp and denser than granulated sugar and helps get fudgy brownies.
• Butter: Regular dairy butter has been used here. You could use any fat such as vegetable oil.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Line the baking pan with a baking sheet/parchment paper, grease it with butter and keep it aside.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder in a deep bottomed bowl.

Add the baking powder and salt. Stir until well combined.

Now add vanilla extract, walnuts and mix well.

In a second bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and milk and whisk until well combined.

Pour this mixture into a bowl with the dry ingredients and nuts.

Gently mix just until wet and dry ingredients are combined. Do not overmix.

Now stir in chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into a lined baking pan. 

Tap the baking pan a couple of times to remove unwanted air bubbles from the batter.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the brownies are well baked. 

Take the baking pan out of the oven and keep it on a cooling rack. 

Allow it to cool down completely and then cut it into squares.

Enjoy walnut brownies with cocoa powder.

Substitutions

Vegan: replace the dairy milk with any plant-based milk, regular butter with either a neutral flavoured oil or vegan butter and ensure to use the vegan chocolate chips and dark chocolate. 
Nut-free: leave out walnuts.

Variations

Try using different nuts such as almonds, pecans and hazelnuts. 

Self-raising flour could be used instead of plain flour/all-purpose flour, however, ensure not to use baking powder as self-raising flour already contains that.

Use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar to get a strong taste.

Milk chocolate chips could be replaced by dark chocolate chips. However, you may have to add more sugar to cut down the bitter taste.

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy these decadent walnut brownies with cocoa powder with a scoop of ice cream. Vanilla ice cream is a classic combination with a brownie, however, take it a notch up with different flavours. Try raspberry ice cream, mint, strawberry, cherry ice cream or any of your preferred flavours. 

If you don't want to add up extra calories but still want to enjoy it, then add a scoop or two of strawberry frozen yogurt. 

During summer, serve it with milkshakes or chilled fruity drinks such as strawberry banana milkshake, frozen mango lemonade. 

Serve it with a dollop of cream topping, my vegan custard or my coconut milk custard. 

Tips and Tricks

Ensure to sift the dry ingredients to remove the tiny lumps.

Follow the metric measurements rather than the cup measurements for accuracy.

Just a big pinch of salt is enough to elevate the flavours. Do not add too much. 

Do not add all the milk in one go while combining the dry and wet ingredients. Add milk gradually and whisk until well combined. 

Ensure not to overmix dry and wet ingredients, mix just until all the ingredients are combined.

I would suggest not replacing brown sugar with granulated sugar instead use both with a 50:50 ratio. The more brown sugar you use, the more fudgy the brownies would be.

Baking time may vary depending on the type of oven you use.

Storage

These chocolate brownies stay fresh for a week when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. 

For longer shelf life, consider storing these double chocolate fudge brownies in the freezer. Wrap individual brownies in a cling wrap put them in a freezer-safe container or zip lock bags and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.