I made 5-ingredient Valentine’s Day brownies – they were the fudgiest I’ve ever had

is just one day away, and regardless of your feelings about this holiday, you can’t deny that it’s always lovely to do something nice for your partner, friend or even just yourself.

Making is an amazing way to show your appreciation, and even better if it’s something delicious that you can enjoy together.

I’ll cook for someone any day of the week, but when it comes to , I tend to break out in a cold sweat – something always goes wrong, I get very stressed, and it’s not the kind of emotions I want to evoke on Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year for that matter.

But this is where the humble five-ingredient comes to the rescue.

So I decided to try my hand at making some chocolate brownies with just a handful of simple ingredients – and they were the fudgiest I’ve ever had.

All you need is five ingredients – sugar, butter, flour, eggs and chocolate – to make the brownie batter, and then it’s just a case of whacking it in the oven and decorating it to your heart’s content.

Despite not being a very good baker at all, I am very fussy when it comes to brownies. They’ve got to have that slighly crispy exterior, but gorgeous and fudgy in the middle.

And this from that I found online most definitely fit the bill. It was very easy to follow, and with a prep time of less than 30 minutes, it’s ideal if you haven’t got a lot of time to make something – but still fancy a sweet treat at the end of the day.

I had a still-warm slice with a cup of tea but it would also be amazing with ice cream or anything else you fancy. Here’s how I made them.

Valentine’s Day brownies 

Ingredients

• 170g dark chocolate
• 100g salted butter
• Two large eggs
• 200g granulated sugar
• 71g all-purpose flour

To decorate:

• Chocolate hearts

Method

Before we start, it’s worth noting that I didn’t use quite the right ingredients – caster sugar instead of granulated and Bourneville instead of 70% cocoa chocolate like the required.

However, the brownies were still delicious so don’t be put off if you haven’t got the exact things the says you need.

First, you’ll want to preheat the oven to 180C and line a small baking tray with greaseproof paper. Then, break up your chocolate into small squares, put it in a microwaveable bowl along with the butter, and melt in 10-second blasts.

Once you’ve got a gorgeous silky mixture, don’t let it cool down – it needs to be warm still for the next part of the .

Crack the eggs into a separate bowl and add the sugar gradually, mixing as you go so that they melt together nicely. Then, pour in the chocolate mixture and continue to whisk until the batter is ultra-smooth and glossy looking.

Add the flour in at this point too, and fold the mixture together until everything is well combined.

Then, pour the mixture into the lined baking tin and make sure you use a spatula to make sure it’s evenly spread out.

This was where I started to panic, as there didn’t appear to be a lot of batter and I didn’t have a smaller baking tin. These were about to be the world’s thinnest brownies – but I was hoping by some miracle they’d rise a bit in the oven.

And after 25 minutes, they had – granted not much, but looking much better than when I’d put the tray in. Nevertheless, I transferred the brownie to a rack to cool down before I got started on the decorating.

I hit another bump in the road when I realised the hundreds and thousands I’d bought were not going to stick to the top of the brownie. I sprinkled some on and they just rolled right off again, so I wouldn’t bother with this step if I were you.

So while it was still slightly warm, I pressed some chocolate heart shapes I’d bought from Asda into the brownie so that they melted beautifully into the filling whilst still keeping their shape.

Then after a little while longer of cooling, it was time to taste. Cutting the brownie up into small slices, I sampled a bite – and was instantly blown away.

They had that unbeatable fudgy centre and crisp outer edge that I love, and they tasted so indulgent. I had to leave most of it at my parent’s house so I didn’t take it home and eat it all myself, so make of that what you will.

I’d really recommend this if you’re not a baking fan like me, but still want to try your hand at a gorgeous Valentine’s dessert – even if you have got the wrong ingredients.