Go Back
Print
Photograph of Hot Brownie Dessert with Vanilla Ice Cream

Hot Brownie Dessert with Vanilla Ice Cream

With a meltingly soft centre and slightly crispy, cake like edges, this rich, intense chocolate dessert is made in one bowl and served with a few scoopfuls of vanilla ice cream, in the same pan you cook it in. It takes 5 minutes to whip together, 15 minutes in the oven and uses only store cupboard ingredients. This dessert is as at home on the table of a smart dinner, as it is when whipped up for surprise visitors or sudden chocolate pudding craving.

Serves 6 - 8

Course Dessert
Keyword Chocolate, dessert, hot
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Author Susan

Ingredients

  • 140g unsalted butter, in cubes
  • 140g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
  • 70g soft brown sugar
  • 70g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • small ¼ teaspoon fine salt
  • 70g plain/all-purpose flour, sieved
  • 15g cocoa, sieved
  • ½ teaspoon instant coffee powder, sieved
  • coarse sea salt flakes

To serve:

  • vanilla ice cream
  • grated chocolate

Instructions

  1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

  2. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 (fan 170°C). Generously butter a 20cm/8in ovenproof frying/cast iron pan.

  3. Chop the butter into squares and place in a microwave safe mixing bowl with the chopped chocolate. Melt in a microwave or a bain marie and mix until smooth. (See Recipe Notes for details.)

  4. Add the sugars and salt and mix well with a balloon whisk.

  5. Next add the eggs and continue to mix with a balloon whisk until thoroughly combined, shiny and slightly thickened. This should only take a minute or two.

  6. Put a sieve over the bowl and add the flour, cocoa and coffee. Sift directly over the cake batter and gently combine with the chocolate mix. Be careful not to over-mix at this stage.

  7. Transfer to the prepared pan and sprinkle over sea salt, to taste.

  8. Cook in the centre of a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. After 15 minutes it should be very soft and gooey in the centre and a little crispy and cake-like around the edge. Remember it will continue to cook when you take it out of the oven.

  9. Top with ice cream and grate over some chocolate. Serve in the pan at the table and let everybody help themselves and enter chocolate heaven.

Recipe Notes

Equipment

  • Large microwave safe bowl and balloon whisk
  • Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
  • Sieve
  • 20cm/8in ovenproof frying/cast iron pan

Be very careful melting the chocolate. Chocolate can be very difficult to work with. You can overheat it very easily and the mixture will go grainy. When this happens, there is no way to resolve it I’m afraid!

Microwave: I give the chocolate and butter a minute in the microwave, take it out and stir it well, then let it sit for a few minutes to see if it continues melting sufficiently to melt all the chocolate. If not, I then continue with the microwave but in 10 – 15 second bursts.

Bain Marie: if you do not have a microwave, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Heat until the chocolate and butter are very nearly melted then take it off the heat and take the bowl off the saucepan. Be very careful not to burn yourself as the bowl will be hot and steam will escape from the saucepan. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes for the residual heat to melt the remainder of the mixture. Again, be careful not to over-heat.