Paul Hollywood's 'Best Brownies You'll Ever Taste' Are ... Fairly Standard

Baker and judge of "The Great British Bake Off" Paul Hollywood has always shared his baking tips, tricks, and recipes. He's written a plethora of books for baking and cooking that range from classic British bakes to breads to pies. Hollywood also claims to be the creator of the "best brownies you'll ever taste." This is a daring claim, especially since his chocolate brownies are fairly standard, but seeing that it's Paul Hollywood, you can likely trust that this recipe is a solid one.

When picturing the perfect brownie, plenty of different qualities come to mind. A good brownie is fudgy and neither dry nor cakey. Importantly, an ideal brownie is extremely chocolatey — so much so that you should only need to eat one square to feel the decadent effect. This last quality is up for debate, but some argue that a good brownie has a varied texture that comes from the inclusion of either chocolate chips or nuts. This "perfect" brownie is pretty close to Paul Hollywood's — his include both milk and dark chocolate — but then again, aren't most brownies like this?

"Best" is ideally used as an objective term, so it's (dare we say) best to take these claims with a grain of salt. Paul Hollywood's brownie recipe is no doubt delicious, but if you ever bake them, you can make up your own mind as to whether or not they're the best. There isn't a single ingredient in Hollywood's glossy-topped brownies that hasn't been used before in one recipe or another. That being said, some of his recipe's more notable ingredients include caster sugar (an extra-fine granulated variety that happens to be Gordon Ramsey's favorite sugar for baking) and cocoa nibs, which are used to top the brownies off with some crunch.

One other factor to note is Hollywood's exclusion of cocoa powder. He instead opts to melt a boatload of chocolate and mix it with butter to give his brownies their chocolate-fudge factor. On top of this, the inclusion of both milk and dark chocolate chips gives his brownies chocolatey pockets and a range of chocolate flavors. Similar strategies have been utilized in many brownie recipes before, so it's safe to say these are good tips. In true British fashion, Hollywood recommends serving the brownies (always warm) with a cup of tea or à la mode.