Walnut Triple Chocolate Brownies

The recipe, step by step

These walnut triple chocolate brownies are everything I want from a brownie: a thin, slightly crackled top, crisp edges and a deeply fudgy centre packed with walnuts and chunks of dark, milk and white chocolate.

They are also remarkably quick to make. The dark chocolate melts into the brownie batter, while the milk and white chocolate remain in pieces, giving you little pockets of chocolate throughout every square. The walnuts add just enough crunch to balance all that richness.

These have long been one of the favourite and most talked-about treats in our household. I particularly like them slightly warm, when the chocolate softens again, either on their own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For another chocolate bake, try my chocolate orange cookies, or for something fruitier have a look at my blueberry white chocolate blondies.

Recipe Highlights

• Ease: Quick and easy, with around 15 minutes of preparation.
• Taste: Deep, rich chocolate balanced by sweeter milk and white chocolate and nutty walnuts.
• Texture: Fudgy, gooey centres with a lightly crackled top and pieces of chocolate and walnut throughout.
• Chocolate: Dark chocolate forms the base, with milk and white chocolate folded through.
• Quantity: 16 brownies.
• Pan: 23 cm (9 inch) square baking tin.
• Baking: 22–25 minutes, beginning your check at 22 minutes.
• Time: Approximately 37 minutes, based on the 22-minute baking time.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Butter: Use 200 g butter. It is melted with the dark chocolate, creating the rich base of the brownie batter.
• Dark chocolate: Use 100 g dark chocolate with at least 50% cocoa solids. I recommend using good-quality chocolate because its flavour comes through very clearly in these brownies.
• Eggs: Use 3 medium eggs, approximately 150 g in total. Bring them to room temperature before you start. Whisking them well with the sugar helps create the light crackled surface while keeping the centre fudgy.
• Light brown sugar: Use 180 g light brown sugar. I like brown sugar here because its slight caramel flavour works especially well with chocolate and walnuts.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: Use 20 g (3 tablespoons). I recommend a good-quality dark cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavour.
• Plain flour: Use 100 g plain flour (all-purpose flour). Weigh it carefully; too much flour is one of the quickest ways to turn a fudgy brownie into a cakey one.
• Bicarbonate of soda: Use ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) for a small amount of lift.
• Fine sea salt: Add a pinch. I recommend keeping the salt in the recipe because it balances the sweetness and makes the chocolate flavour taste fuller.
• Milk chocolate: Use 50 g, chopped into roughly 1 cm pieces.
• White chocolate: Use 50 g, also chopped into roughly 1 cm pieces.
• Walnuts: Use 100 g walnut halves. Leave some pieces aside with a little of the chocolate if you would like to decorate the top before baking.

Nigel recommends

Recommended Ingredients

For the best flavour, I recommend using good-quality chocolate and cocoa powder in these brownies. The dark chocolate gives the batter its depth, while the milk and white chocolate add sweeter pockets throughout. A rich dark cocoa powder makes the chocolate flavour even more intense.

Ingredient

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Ingredient

Callebaut

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How to Make Walnut Triple Chocolate Brownies

1. Preheat the oven: Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4 without the fan. For a fan oven, reduce the temperature to 160°C.

2. Prepare the tin: Line a 23 cm (9 inch) square baking tin with baking parchment, leaving enough paper to make the cooled brownies easy to lift out.

3. Melt the chocolate and butter: Place the 100 g dark chocolate and 200 g butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until completely melted, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

4. Microwave alternative: Alternatively, melt the dark chocolate and butter in a microwave using 10-second intervals, stirring thoroughly between each burst until smooth.

5. Prepare the remaining chocolate: Chop the 50 g milk chocolate and 50 g white chocolate into roughly 1 cm pieces and set aside.

6. Whisk the eggs and sugar: Place the 3 eggs and 180 g light brown sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until pale, fluffy and increased in volume. With an electric hand mixer this takes approximately 1 minute.

7. Add the melted chocolate: Pour the slightly cooled chocolate and butter mixture into the whisked eggs and sugar. Whisk only until combined.

8. Add the dry ingredients: Sift in the 100 g flour, 20 g cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt. Add the walnuts and chopped milk and white chocolate, reserving a little of each for the top if you like.

9. Fold gently: Using a spatula, gently fold everything together until just combined. Avoid overmixing so you do not knock out all the air incorporated into the eggs.

10. Fill the tin: Pour the brownie batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.

11. Finish the top: Scatter over the reserved walnuts and chocolate pieces.

12. Bake: Bake for 22–25 minutes. Begin checking at 22 minutes. The edges should be set and the surface should have begun to crack, while the centre remains fudgy.

Insert a toothpick or skewer into the centre. It should come out with a few moist crumbs attached rather than completely clean.

13. Cool: Remove the brownies from the oven and leave them to cool in the tin. The centre will continue to set as it cools.

Nigel’s Recipe Tips

Whisk the eggs and sugar well. I like to whisk them until noticeably paler and increased in volume. This helps give the brownies their characteristic shiny, slightly crackled top.

Fold rather than beat. Once the flour goes in, use a spatula and fold gently. Overmixing knocks out the air and can leave the brownies heavier.

Measure the flour accurately. With only 100 g flour, even a relatively small measuring error can change the texture. I strongly recommend weighing it.

Use good-quality chocolate. These brownies contain three different chocolates, so their flavour matters. Good dark chocolate and a rich cocoa powder give you a much deeper result.

Keep some chocolate and walnuts for the top. I like doing this because the brownies look much more appealing once baked and you can immediately see what is inside them.

Start checking at 22 minutes. Brownies can move from beautifully fudgy to cakey surprisingly quickly. They may need up to 25 minutes, but I would not automatically give them the extra time.

Don’t wait for a clean skewer. A few moist crumbs are exactly what you want. If the skewer comes out completely dry, the brownies are likely to have gone a little too far.

Let them cool before cutting. They will seem very soft straight from the oven. Cooling gives the centre time to set into that dense, fudgy texture.

Variations

Different Nuts

You can leave the walnuts out completely or replace them with pecans, almonds, peanuts or hazelnuts.

Darker Chocolate Brownies

For a more intense, less sweet brownie, replace the milk and white chocolate with dark chocolate.

You can also use 70% dark chocolate throughout if you particularly enjoy a stronger, slightly more bitter chocolate flavour.

Coffee and Chocolate Brownies

Coffee works beautifully with chocolate.

Dissolve 1 tablespoon coffee powder in 1 tablespoon hot water, then stir it into the melted chocolate mixture.

Cherry Chocolate Brownies

Fresh or dried cherries work particularly well with dark chocolate.

Omit the walnuts and additional milk and white chocolate and replace them with cherries.

Chocolate Sweets

For a more playful version, pieces of chocolate sweets can replace some or all of the milk and white chocolate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Makes These Brownies Triple Chocolate?

They contain three different chocolates.

Dark chocolate is melted into the brownie batter, while pieces of milk chocolate and white chocolate are folded through before baking.

How Do I Know When the Brownies Are Ready?

Begin checking them after 22 minutes.

The edges should look set, the top should have started to crack and the centre should still appear soft.

A skewer inserted into the centre should have moist crumbs attached rather than coming out completely clean.

Why Are My Brownies Cakey?

The most likely causes are too much flour, overmixing or overbaking.

Weigh the 100 g flour accurately, fold the mixture gently once the dry ingredients are added and start checking the brownies at 22 minutes.

Can I Leave Out the Walnuts?

Yes. The walnuts can simply be omitted, or you can replace them with another nut such as pecans, almonds or hazelnuts.

Can I Use Only Dark Chocolate?

Yes. Using dark chocolate throughout gives you a more intense chocolate flavour and reduces some of the sweetness from the milk and white chocolate.

Should Brownies Look Undercooked When They Come Out of the Oven?

They should not contain raw batter, but the centre should still be soft and fudgy.

Remember that the brownies continue cooking and setting from the residual heat after they are removed from the oven.

Can I Warm the Brownies Before Serving?

Yes. I particularly like these warmed slightly so that the chocolate pieces soften again. They are excellent served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Tools You’ll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• Heatproof bowl
• Electric hand whisk
• Fine sieve
• Spatula
• Baking parchment
• Wire cooling rack
• Digital kitchen scales

• Loose Base Square Cake Pan – I recommend this sturdy, good-quality non-stick tin for brownies, blondies, traybakes and cake bars. The 23 cm/9 inch square size is particularly useful for recipes like these walnut triple chocolate brownies, while the loose base makes it much easier to lift out delicate bakes cleanly once cooled.

• Pyrex Glass Measuring Jug, 1L – I think I have said it before that I am not a big fan of plastic, so I like this type of glass measuring jug for calculating my liquids.

• Milk Saucepan – 1 Litre With Double Sided Pouring Lips -This small pan is a great size for boiling small amounts of liquids and it has pouring lips built into the rim of the saucepan which makes it easy to use.

Storage and Freezing

Storing

Once completely cool, keep the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Alternatively, refrigerate them for up to 5 days.

For the best texture, bring refrigerated brownies back towards room temperature before serving, or warm them briefly.

Freezing

The brownies can be frozen for up to 3 months.

I recommend cutting them first and wrapping the individual squares before placing them in an airtight freezer container. This means you can remove only as many brownies as you need.

Leave frozen brownies to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring them to room temperature before serving.

You can also warm them gently in the oven or microwave after defrosting.

Nutrition

Nutrition per serving

Serving: one brownie, based on 16 servings
Calories 280 kcal (14%)
Total Fat 19.6 g (28%)
Carbs 24.6 g (9%)
Sugars 16.9 g (19%)
Protein 3.8 g (8%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Nutrition information is provided as an estimate and may vary depending on the exact ingredients, brands and serving size used.

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