Espresso brownies have a rich coffee flavour, soft & fudgy texture and they come loaded with chocolate chips. This recipe for brownies with espresso is quick, simple and bound to please.
Try these chocolate espresso brownies with your favourite flavoured latte. Perhaps a simple honey latte or an extravagant caramel latte.
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Coffee lovers will fall for these fudgy espresso brownies. They are intensely flavoured with both chocolate and espresso coffee, loaded up with white and dark chocolate chips and adorned simply with a drizzle of dark chocolate and a light sprinkling of sea salt flakes. They are a rich and decadent treat to savour.
Don’t miss my coffee cookies or my Mexican mocha cake. They are both wonderful coffee-flavoured bakes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick & easy: these brownies with espresso can be in the oven in around 20 minutes and don’t result in many pots to wash.
- Taste: these chocolate espresso brownies are rich, intense and deeply delicious.
- Aroma: imagine the enchanting smell of chocolate. Think about the alluring aroma of coffee. Blend the two in your mind… heaven!
- Unique: of all the brownie recipes knocking around, one that includes coffee and a dash of sea salt is a little out of the ordinary.
Ingredients notes
Espresso Powder: you’ll need finely ground espresso powder to make this espresso brownies recipe successfully.
Butter: if your diet allows, butter is the best option for the fullest flavour. Dairy-free block butter substitute can be used if necessary but do add in a little extra salt.
Dark Chocolate: use dark chocolate with around 70% cocoa solids to create a brownie batter with rich chocolate flavour that can withstand the robust coffee flavour.
Sugar: use a blend of caster sugar and dark muscovado sugar to help create a lovely fudgy texture to your bake.
Eggs: use 2 eggs and 2 additional egg yolks because the extra yolks also help create a soft, fudgy brownie.
Use the spare egg whites to make a Disaronno sour cocktail or some jammy coconut macaroons.
Sea Salt: a lightly scattering of sea salt across the top of these brownies with espresso pulls the flavours together in a delightful way, giving this bake a lovely twang. I highly recommend you try this out.
Equipment notes
You’ll need a handheld balloon whisk, mixing bowls, and a straight-sided 8-inch (20cm) square cake pan for this recipe.
Step by step instructions
Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1. Melt the butter and chocolate together either in a microwave or over a bain-Marie.
Step 2. Stir in the sugars (breaking down any lumps first).
Step 3. Add the eggs, egg yolks & vanilla extract. Use a handheld balloon whisk to beat the ingredients together.
Step 4. Sieve the flour, fine espresso powder, cocoa and salt into the batter and mix, using the balloon whisk, until just combined.
Step 5. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter using a large metal spoon.
Pour the batter into a prepared tin. Bake it for 20 minutes.
When the bake has completely cooled, cut it into 16 squares.
Step 6. Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle half of it diagonally across the cut brownies. Turn the brownies 90 degrees and drizzle the remainder of the chocolate over it. Sprinkle with sea salt and leave it to allow the chocolate to set.
Expert Tips
Top Tip: the espresso powder must be finely ground. Using coarse or medium-ground espresso will result in a gritty texture that will not be pleasant to eat.
- Use digital kitchen scales and gram measurements. It’s the most accurate way to measure ingredients and I do not recommend any other method. Please do not use cup measurements when baking as it is a wildly inaccurate system.
- This recipe for brownies with espresso creates soft & fudgy brownies. If you prefer cakey-style brownies this may not be your ideal recipe.
- Use the correct-sized tin. If it is too small then your batter may overflow. If it is too large the brownies will be too thin. And of course, the baking time will be affected if a different tin size is used.
- Brownies are not easy to remove from baking tins without a liner so always line your tin, even if it claims to be non-stick.
- Reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes to create gooier brownies or extend cooking time by 2 minutes for a firmer bake.
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before cutting them. If they are hot or warm when cut the brownie is likely to crumble.
Variations
These fudgy brownies with espresso are wonderful just as they are but you can adapt the recipe to ring the changes occasionally:
- Leave out the chocolate chips.
- Use just dark chocolate chips.
- Add in 75g chopped walnuts since coffee and walnuts are such good friends.
- or add in pistachio nuts.
Serving suggestion
Although these brownies should be cooled completely before they are cut into squares they can be reheated as they are delicious served warm with a scoop of either vanilla ice cream or coffee flavoured ice cream.
Frequently asked questions
This espresso brownies recipe uses 30g of espresso powder and makes 16 squares which equates to less than 2g espresso powder per portion. That means there is around 15mg of caffeine per serving, which is unlikely to keep the average person awake.
For reference, a typical 40ml shot of espresso contains around 65mg of caffeine.
I do not recommend adding more espresso powder to this recipe for brownies with espresso. Too much powder will adversely affect the texture of this bake.
I do not recommend using instant coffee granules when making this recipe for brownies with espresso as it is a very different product. This recipe has been developed using espresso powder.
These fudgy espresso brownies should be wrapped in foil and stored in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to three days. They can also be frozen.
More fabulous brownies to enjoy
Have you made this espresso brownies recipe? Please give the recipe a rating or leave a comment – I love to hear how you get along with my creations.
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📖 Recipe
Espresso Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 120 g Butter
- 170 g Dark chocolate around 72% cocoa solids is ideal
- 100 g Caster sugar
- 110 g Dark muscovado sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 85 g Plain flour
- 30 g Espresso powder finely ground – do not use medium or coarse powder as the brownies will end up gritty
- 30 g Cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 50 g White chocolate chips
- 50 g Dark chocolate chips
Decoration
- 30 g Dark chocolate
- ½-1 teaspoon Sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180℃/350℉.
- Grease &line a 20cm x 20cm (8 inch x 8 inch) baking tin with baking parchment.
- Melt the butter and 170g dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl either in the microwave (in short bursts at half power) or using a bain-Marie. Stir to combine.120 g Butter, 170 g Dark chocolate
- Add the sugars to the bowl and mix them in using a balloon whisk.100 g Caster sugar, 110 g Dark muscovado sugar
- Whisk in the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla extract.2 Eggs, 2 Egg yolks, 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- Measure the flour, finely ground espresso powder, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl then sift it into the wet mixture and use the balloon whisk to blend the ingredients together. Do not overmix the brownie batter: stop mixing when no more streaks of flour are evident.85 g Plain flour, 30 g Espresso powder, 30 g Cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon Salt
- Stir in the chocolate chips using a large metal spoon.50 g White chocolate chips, 50 g Dark chocolate chips
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin, level the surface and bake it in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Test your brownie with a toothpick – if raw batter is evident on the pick continue to bake it for another 2-3 minutes and test again.
- Once baked, allow the espresso brownies to cool completely in the tin.
- When completely cold, the brownies can be cut into squares (keep them on the baking parchment). Once cut, push the brownies back together ready to decorate them.
- Melt the remaining dark chocolate and drizzle half over the brownies diagonally. Now turn the brownies 90 degrees by rotating the baking sheet they are sitting on. Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top, again diagonally.30 g Dark chocolate
- Sprinkle the sea salt flakes over the brownies, separate each brownie slightly and leave them for 30 minutes or until the chocolate has set.½-1 teaspoon Sea salt flakes
Notes
- Use digital kitchen scales and gram measurements. It’s the most accurate way to measure ingredients and I do not recommend any other method. Please do not use cup measurements when baking as it is a wildly inaccurate system.
- This recipe for brownies with espresso creates soft & fudgy brownies. If you prefer cakey-style brownies this may not be your ideal recipe.
- Use the correct-sized tin. If it is too small then your batter may overflow. If it is too large the brownies will be too thin. And of course, the baking time will be affected if a different tin size is used.
- Brownies are not easy to remove from baking tins without a liner so always line your tin, even if it claims to be non-stick.
- Reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes to create goeier brownies or extend cooking time by 2 minutes fora firmer bake.
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before cutting them. If they are hot or warm when cut, the brownie is likely to crumble.
- These brownies should be wrapped in foil and stored in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to three days. They can also be frozen.
Jane Coupland
I hope that you enjoy these brownies. One of my taste testers declared them the best brownies he’d ever tasted!