Fudgy Condensed Milk Brownies

We made these at work as an experiment, swapping condensed milk into a brownie just to see what would happen, and it worked far better than any of us expected. You might call the result a toffee or caramel slice - the condensed milk bakes down to something close to dulce de leche. It is a lovely twist on a classic brownie, and it could not be much easier to make.

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What Kind of Brownie Is This?

A chocolate brownie with a caramel backbone, which is not quite the same thing as either a plain chocolate brownie or a butterscotch traybake. The cocoa is there and you can taste it, but the weight of the flavour comes from a whole tin of condensed milk, so it eats toffee-ish and dense rather than dark and bitter. There is only 150 g of dark brown sugar in the whole tray, because the tin is already carrying about 216 g of sugar of its own and is doing most of that work. There is no melted chocolate in it: the chocolate is all cocoa powder, which is why the crumb stays fudgy rather than setting firm as a melted-chocolate batter does.

Worth knowing which of my two brownies you are making. If you want a properly dark, cocoa-led brownie, take a look at my gooey chocolate brownies instead, which carry more than twice the cocoa against a fraction of the flour. This one is for when you want the caramel end of the tray with the chocolate behind it.

A Closer Look at the Ingredients

These brownies use just a few store-cupboard basics:

• Sweetened condensed milk A whole 397 g tin, and it is the reason this is not just a cocoa brownie. Its sugar comes already dissolved in milk (here is why sugar can set grainy), and the milk proteins and lactose brown in the oven into the caramel note you can taste. Instead: there is no clean swap. Evaporated milk looks similar in the tin and is not sweetened, so it will not do this job, and dulce de leche or caramel condensed milk gives a darker, heavier result that works but is a different tray.
• Dark brown sugar 150 g, and deliberately not more. The tin is already carrying about 216 g of sugar of its own, so this is here for the molasses rather than for the sweetness. It is what gives the toffee edge that cocoa on its own will not. Instead: light brown sugar for a gentler, less treacly note. Caster sugar works and loses the toffee.
• Cocoa powder 70 g, Dutch-processed rather than natural. Natural cocoa is acidic at around pH 5 and quite astringent; dutching takes it to pH 7 or 8 and bonds those bitter phenolics into dark, flavourless pigment. In a tray with this much dairy sugar in it that is the difference between deep and sour. Instead: natural cocoa if it is what you have, and expect a sharper, lighter-coloured brownie.
• Butter 250 g, melted and cooled for a minute before it goes in. Melted rather than creamed on purpose: creaming beats in air and air is what makes a brownie cakey. Instead: a firm baking block works for a dairy-free butter, though the condensed milk has no dairy-free equivalent, so it only gets you part of the way.
• Plain flour 260 g, which is a lot more than most condensed milk brownies use. They can afford less because they carry melted chocolate or a bag of chips that sets firm as it cools and holds the slab together. There is none in this one, so the flour is doing that structural job instead. Instead: a 1:1 gluten-free blend works here.
• Eggs Whisked with the brown sugar until pale and thick. They are the only lift in the recipe and the whisking is what gives you the thin papery crust on top. Instead: a replacer gives you something denser and closer to fudge, which some people prefer, but it is a different bake and not one I have tested.

Equipment You’ll Need

Nothing fancy here, though the tin size changes the brownie.

What Makes These Brownies Fudgy

The trick with these brownies is to stop while they still look slightly underdone. Bake until the edges are set but the middle still has a gentle wobble. They carry on firming up as they cool, so an extra minute is easy to add, but an overbaked batch is not. Ovens vary, so start checking a few minutes early, and if you like really clean slices, chill them before cutting.

A few small things make a big difference. Do not overmix once the flour goes in: stir just until it disappears, because too much mixing beats in air and gives you cakey rather than fudgy brownies. Sift the cocoa rather than tipping it in, because it clumps, and a lump of it that has not dispersed bakes into a dry bitter patch. And bake in a metal tin if you can rather than glass or ceramic. Metal heats and cools quickly, which sets the edges while the middle stays soft and gooey.

How to Make Condensed Milk Brownies, Step by Step

Eight steps, one bowl of wet and one of dry. The two that matter are the whisking of the eggs and sugar at the start, and knowing when to take the tin out at the end.

1. Heat the oven to 180 C. Have it properly up to temperature before the batter goes in.This is a short bake, and an oven still climbing leaves you with a raw middle, which is the commonest complaint about brownies like these.
2. Line the tin, do not just grease it. A 9 by 13 inch tin, with baking parchment up the sides so you can lift the whole slab out.This batter is heavy with sugar and it sticks hard. Cutting and levering brownies out of the tin is how the first row ends up in pieces.
3. Whisk the eggs and brown sugar until pale and thick. Two or three minutes with a mixer, longer than feels necessary.It is the only air in the recipe, and it is what gives you the thin, papery crust on top that a good brownie is judged by. Undermix it here and the top bakes dull and flat.
4. Add the melted butter, the whole tin of condensed milk and the vanilla. Whisk it in properly, do not fold. Let the butter cool for a minute or two first if it came straight off the heat.Condensed milk is thick and wants to sit in ribbons at the bottom of the bowl, and it needs to be fully through the eggs and sugar before any flour goes near it. Very hot butter poured onto beaten eggs can set them in threads.
5. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder together. Then whisk them together in the bowl as well.There is a full teaspoon of baking powder going into a heavy batter, and a pocket of it leaves a soapy patch you will taste. Cocoa clumps worse than flour does. A sieve breaks lumps up but it does not mix, and the raising agent has to be evenly through all 330 g of dry before it meets a batter this wet.
6. Fold the dry into the wet, and stop early. Fold with a spatula, do not beat, and stop the moment the last streak of flour disappears.Overmixing is what turns a fudgy brownie cakey. Every extra turn builds more gluten and traps more air, and both push the texture towards sponge.
7. Start checking at 25 minutes, and watch what the top does. Spread the batter level and put it in. You want edges that are set and slightly pulling from the tin, and a centre that looks matte and puffed, not wet and shiny. A centre that still glistens needs another two or three minutes. Do not use the toothpick test on these.It rises as it bakes and sinks back as it cools, and that drop is the sign you are looking for. A fudgy brownie is meant to leave moist crumbs, so a skewer that comes out clean means you have gone too far.
8. Cool completely in the tin, uncovered. Once cold, lift the slab out on the parchment and cut it with a big knife, wiping the blade between cuts.The brownies keep setting as they cool and the steam needs somewhere to go. Covered warm, they trap moisture and you get a soggy top.

Recipe Card for Fudgy Condensed Milk Brownies

Recipe Card

Condensed Milk Brownie

A fudgy traybake built on a whole tin of condensed milk, with cocoa behind it and only a little dark brown sugar because the tin does most of the sweetening. One bowl of wet, one of dry, and cooled completely in the tin.

★★★★☆ 3.7 from 3 votes · Rate this recipe

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Prep

15 min

Cook

23 min

Total

38 min

Serves

24

Per serving

210 kcal

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24 squares

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Equipment I Use

Baking TrayMixing BowlBaking ParchmentHand MixerWhisk

Ingredients

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250 g Melted Butter 150 g Dark Brown Sugar 4 Eggs, about 200 g out of their shells 397 g Condensed Milk, one tin 260 g Plain Flour 70 g Cocoa Powder, Dutch-processed 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, or use Vanilla Bean Paste if available

Instructions

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1

Preheat Oven

Set your oven to 180°C (356°F)

2

Prepare the Pan

Line your 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) baking pan with baking parchment. This will prevent sticking and make it easier to remove the brownies after baking.

3

Combine Eggs and Sugar

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4

Add Wet Ingredients

Pour in the melted butter, the whole tin of condensed milk and a splash of vanilla extract. Whisk rather than fold: the condensed milk is thick and needs to be fully through the eggs and sugar before any flour goes near it.

5

Mix Dry Ingredients

In a separate bowl, sift together the plain flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Sifting matters more than usual with cocoa in the mix: it clumps, and a pocket that has not been dispersed bakes into a dry bitter patch.

6

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients

Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until combined. Be careful to mix just until you no longer see any streaks of flour, to avoid overmixing which could lead to tougher brownies.

7

Bake the Brownies

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly. Bake in the preheated oven, starting to check at 25 minutes. Note that the brownie will rise during baking and should drop down after being taken out of the oven. Do not use the toothpick method to check if they are done.

8

Cool and Serve

Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan without covering them. This step is crucial as it allows the brownies to release excess moisture, which is essential for achieving the perfect texture. For easier cutting, place the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before slicing into squares.

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Chef’s notes＋

• The condensed milk is the recipe. A whole 397 g tin goes in. Its sugar comes already dissolved in milk, and the milk proteins brown into the caramel note. This is why the dark brown sugar is only 150 g: the tin is doing most of the sweetening.
• Batter height: aim for a uniform 2 cm in a 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) tin. It rises as it bakes and drops back to about 1 cm, which is normal and is the sign you are looking for.
• Baking time: start checking at 25 minutes. Do not use the skewer test - a fudgy brownie is meant to leave moist crumbs. Edges set and slightly pulling from the tin, centre matte and puffed rather than wet and shiny.
• Cooling: cool in the tin uncovered. They carry on setting as they cool and the steam needs somewhere to go, so covering them warm gives you a soggy top.
• Cutting: half an hour in the fridge before slicing gives much cleaner squares.
• Storage: airtight at room temperature, not in the fridge, which makes them hard and dulls the caramel. They freeze well cut into squares.

Nutrition per serving＋

210 kcalProtein 4.1 gCarbs 25 gFat 11 gSat fat 6.7 gFibre 1.2 gSugar 15 gSodium 105 mgServing 52 g

Condensed Milk Brownie · https://chefsbinge.com/condensed-milk-brownies/

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Variations and Add-Ins

These fudgy condensed milk brownies are a brilliant base for playing around. A few of my favourite twists:

• Nutty: fold in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch.
• Extra chocolatey: stir through white, milk or dark chocolate chunks before baking.
• Salted: finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt to balance the sweetness.
• Mocha: add a teaspoon of espresso powder to deepen the chocolate flavour.
• Caramel swirl: ripple a little dulce de leche through the batter before it bakes.
• Dairy-free: swap the butter for a plant-based block and use tinned coconut condensed milk - just check your chocolate is dairy-free too.
• Prefer them cakey? Stir a teaspoon of baking powder in with the flour for a lighter, more sponge-like crumb.

In the mood for more chocolate? Try my Ultimate Gooey Chocolate Brownies or no-bake Chocolate Cake with Biscuits.

FAQ for Fudgy Condensed Milk Brownies

A Few Words from the Chef

They come out properly fudgy, and the flavour takes me straight back to krówka, the Polish toffee sweets I grew up on.