Fudgy Brownie Cones

Brownies are supposedly one of the easiest things to make as the ingredients just need to be stirred together in a bowl, then poured into a lined pan and popped into the oven to bake. Well, I do bake quite often, but somehow, brownies have eluded me all this time. I think I might have baked a batch or two of them before, quite a long time ago, but they just aren't something I'd make often, mostly because I always feel guilty after eating them, non-stop. Addictive little things.

After a relatively long "hiatus" from eating and baking brownies, I had my first few ones at a friend's place a couple of weeks ago. My friend, D, had made these simple but absolutely scrumptious brownies and I was lucky enough to bring home some extras, which didn't last longer than that afternoon. She was kind enough to let me have the recipe, and so I have been holding back until yesterday, when I decided that after a healthy sushi lunch, I (or we) deserve a decadent brownie treat. Plus, my hands were itching to bake something that evening and brownies seemed to be the perfect solution to instant bake-therapy.

I had initially planned to bake the brownies in ice-cream wafer cones, but in my haste to make the brownies before dinnertime, I forgot and simply baked them in a pan instead. No worries. My brownies were fudgy enough that I could mould them using an ice-cream scoop, although I had to first cut the brownies up into little squares first before pressing each one into the scooop. They fit nice and snug in the little cup-cones, and then all I had to do was pipe (or dip if you're making a big batch) some melted chocolate over the top and decorate with sprinkles and smarties. I would have topped it off with some vanilla ice-cream to serve if I had some in the freezer.

Here is the recipe I used for these brownies:

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

125g unsalted butter, chopped
200g dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain flour

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 19cm x 19cm baking pan.

Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat. Alternatively, place in a bowl and microwave on high at 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until melted. Place the mixture in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well combined. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until just set and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do not overbake them! Leave to cool in the pan before cutting into 16 pieces.

To fit them in the cones, gently mould the squares with your fingers to fit into an ice-cream scoop and press the centre slightly. Then unmould the brownie onto the cone and dip/drizzle/pipe with melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles, fruits or other candy. Store in an airtight container.