Rich, fudgy and deliciously dense chocolate After Eight Brownies all hiding a secret layer of mint thins throughout. Delicious warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or simply on their own.
After Eights, for those that don't know, are essentially a layer of thin mint fondant encased in thin dark chocolate. When I was a child they were quite a treat, and not nearly as cheap as they are now. Perhaps that is why I still adore them and they always feature on our table at Christmas.
But, I thought, why not go a step further? Why not add them to a lovely, gooey, fudgy brownie? It can surely only be a good thing!
By adding a layer of After Eights mint thins we introduce a layer of mint but still keep the richness of the chocolate brownie on either side. So we have different levels of flavour and different textures in one gloriously soft, rich brownie.
These After Eight brownies are truly one of my favourite bakes to date and I really hope that you lovely people enjoy them too.
For another sweet treat Biscoff recipe my Biscoff Fudge
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Why make these After Eight Brownies?
Soft, gooey and fudgy ✔️
Dense and rich ✔️
A layer of After 8s inside ✔️
Intensely chocolatey ✔️
Perfect mix of peppermint and chocolate flavours ✔️
Ingredients and Substitutions
Unsalted butter: there is a lot of butter in brownies, it give them a rich flavour and, because we melt it, adds to the brownie's chewy consistency.
Dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids: always use good dark chocolate, it makes such a difference to the quality of your brownies. It doesn't have to be expensive, I use supermarket branded dark cooking chocolate.
Caster (superfine) sugar: can be substituted with golden caster sugar but not granulated sugar as the sugar needs to dissolve quickly when beaten with the eggs, and granulated is therefore too course.
Plain flour: gives structure to our After Eight Brownies, otherwise they would just collapse!
Cocoa powder: again, try to use a good brand if you can to ensure your brownies have a real chocolatey richness. I use cooking cocoa.
Eggs: there are quite a few eggs in brownies, they add to the chewy but silky texture.
Fine salt: just a little is added to bring out the flavours in these brownies
After Eights: yep a whole box is used! They are not called After 8 Brownies for nothing!
Instructions
See end of post RECIPE CARD for precise quantities and instructions.
Instructions
Heat your oven and line your baking tray with greaseproof (parchment) paper.
Melt your butter and stir in chopped dark chocolate, leave to cool a little, you want it cool enough to touch, too hot as it will cook the eggs when added to them.
In a separate bowl beat together your eggs and sugar until, pale yellow, light and frothy. Tip in your cooled chocolate mixture and mix until combined.
Sift your flour, cocoa and salt into the After Eight brownie mixture mixture and carefully fold in. Flour should always be folded in, whatever you bake, as mixing it too much activates the gluten and thus gives a rubbery texture.
Set aside eight After Eights.
Add half of your brownie mixture to your prepared tin or dish and then cover with a layer of After Eights. Use up the rest of the After Eights in a second layer dispersed over the top.
Cover with the remainder of your brownie batter.
Pop over some dark chocolate chunks if using.
Bake for 50-60 minutes until there remains only the slightest of wobbles in the middle of the baked brownies.
Dot over your remaining After Eights onto your hot brownies once they are baked, so that they melt and ooze over the top. Yum.
Leave to cool completely in your tin and then cut into small squares.
Top Tips
- To ensure your brownies are fudgy and not cakey keep your mixing to a minimum so that you do not incorporate extra air. Your final batter should be silky in texture.
- Ensure you cool your brownies at room temperature, don't be tempted to refrigerate to speed up the process because they won't set properly if cooled too quickly.
- They like to be baked at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time. Overbake just by minutes and they are cakey, underbake and they can be raw in the middle.
- To know when they are baked, give the tin a gentle shake and look for a bit of a wobble, just in the very middle but not a huge jelly-like wobble.
- Another test is to insert a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre of your After Eight Brownies and continue baking if it comes out coated in uncooked batter. If just coated in a few cakes, fudgy bits then your brownies are done.
Variations
You can use this recipe for plain brownies, just leave out the After Eights, everything else is the same.
Or create fruit and nut boozy brownies. Soak 75 grams of raisins in a tablespoon of brandy for at least 30 minutes and then add them, along with 60 grams of chopped nuts, to your brownies batter after you've mixed in your flour.
You can add still add After Eights as per the recipe below or omit them altogether.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the Recipe Card below.
Storage
Store After 8 Brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
You can freeze your brownies, once totally cooled. Wrap the whole lot, uncut, in two layers of foil and then a layer of clingfilm, ensuring all layers are nice and airtight. Cut when fully defrosted.
Or, to freeze your brownies individually, cut them up, place them in an airtight container and place a piece of greaseproof (parchment) paper in between.
FAQ
You may find that once you've taken your brownies out of your oven you realise they are a bit too gooey inside and could do with baking for a bit longer. Simply reheat your oven and pop them back in. This is fine to do even if your brownies have been cooling for a few hours.
If you want to revert overbaked brownies back to their gooey finery simply prick the brownies all over and then pour over a chocolate syrup to replenish the moisture content, here is a recipe you might want to try. You can, if you wish, go a step further and cover with a chocolate ganache as per the one used in my Chocolate Orange Cake recipe.
Linked Recipes
Peanut Butter and Banana 🍌 Brownies
Jammy Dodger Blondies with White Chocolate
📖 Recipe
After Eight Brownies
Here's what you'll need...
- 12 x 8 inch baking tin or ceramic dish
- Small saucepan
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Baloon whisk or wooden spoon
Ingredients you'll need...
- 200 g Unsalted butter
- 200 g Dark chocolate minimum 70% cocoa solids supermarket cooking chocolate is fine as long as it is 70% or more - chop as small as you can
- 3 Large eggs - you will need 2 eggs and a yolk at room temperature
- 240 g Caster sugar
- 50 g Plain flour
- 50 g Cocoa powder I use cooking cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon Fine salt
- 300 g Box of After Eights or other mint thins
- Handful of dark chocolate chunks optional
Here's what we do...
- Heat your oven to 140°C Fan/160°C/320°F/Gas Mark 3.
- Grease and line your baking tin or dish. To do this cut a piece of greasepaper that covers the long sides and base of the tin. Ensure the paper overhangs the edges so that you can hold it to remove your brownies when baked.
- Heat your butter in your saucepan. Do this on a gentle heat, so that none evaporates during the process.
- Remove from the heat and add your finely chopped chocolate. Stir until melted and thoroughly combined. If you find the chocolate is not melting then return the mixture to the heat briefly, stirring all of the time until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little, so that it is warm but not hot.
- In a separate bowl, sift together your flour, cocoa powder and salt.
- In another bowl beat together your eggs and sugar until pale yellow, light and fluffy, this will take about 30 seconds using a hand mixer with the beaters attached.
- Pour your chocolate mixture into your beaten eggs and sugar mixture and mix until combined. I find using a balloon whisk works well for this.
- Add your sifted flour, cocoa and salt and gently fold in until fully combined.
- Add half of your brownie batter to your prepared tin.
- Set aside 8 After Eights and then place half of the rest of them over your brownie mixture, equally spaced out, then cover them with a second layer.
- Cover with the rest of the brownie batter and dot over chocolate chunks if using.
- Place in the centre of your oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. Your brownie mixture should have just a slight wobble in the middle when done, if they are too wobbly then they will be mush in the middle. Mine usually take an hour to bake.
- As soon as they come out of the oven dot over the remaining eight After Eights, so that they just melt a little as the mixture cools.
- Leave to cool completely then using the greaseproof paper overhand to remove to a cooling rack. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Supporting Notes
- To ensure your brownies are fudgy and not cakey keep your mixing to a minimum so that you do not incorporate extra air. Your batter should be silky in texture when ready
- Ensure you cool your brownies at room temperature, don't be tempted to refrigerate to speed up the process because they won't set properly inside if cooled too quickly. Also, don't try to cut them up before totally cool.
- Brownies like to be baked at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time. Overbake just by minutes and they are cakey, under bake and they can be raw in the middle.
- To know when they are baked, give the tin a gentle shake and look for a bit of a wobble, just in the very middle but not a huge jelly-like wobble.
- Another test is to insert a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre of your After Eight Brownies and continue baking if it comes out coated in uncooked batter. If just coated in a few cakes, fudgy bits then your brownies are done.
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