Recipe
Mummy Brownies
Fudgy chocolate brownies decorated with white-chocolate mummy bandages and tiny dark eyes for Halloween. Cool the baked slab completely before cutting and decorating, ready for a playful tray of party treats.
Ingredients
For the brownies
For the mummy decorations
Method
20 mins prep33 mins cook130 mins total
Prepare the tin and oven. Heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Lightly grease a 20 cm square tin and line the base and sides with baking paper, leaving some overhang to lift the brownies out later.
Melt the chocolate and butter. Put the butter and dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 5 minutes, until warm rather than hot.
Whisk the eggs and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla for 1–2 minutes until thoroughly combined and slightly thickened. You do not need to whisk to a mousse.
Combine the mixtures. Slowly pour the warm melted chocolate into the egg mixture, stirring continuously with a spatula until glossy and evenly mixed.
Fold in the dry ingredients. Sift over the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Fold gently just until you can no longer see dry streaks. Do not beat the batter at this stage.
Fill the tin. Scrape the thick batter into the prepared tin and spread it into the corners. Level the top with a spatula.
Bake. Bake on the middle shelf for 28–33 minutes. The edges should look set and the top should have a thin crust; the middle may have a slight wobble. A skewer inserted near the centre should come out with moist, sticky crumbs but no liquid batter. If necessary, bake for another 2–3 minutes and check again.
Cool completely. Leave the brownies in the tin for 20–30 minutes, then lift out using the baking paper and cool fully on a wire rack. For particularly neat cuts, chill for 20–30 minutes once cool.
Cut into mummies. Use a sharp knife to cut the slab into 16 equal squares (a 4 × 4 grid), wiping the blade clean between cuts.
Melt the white chocolate. Put the white chocolate in a dry, microwave-safe bowl and heat in 15–20-second bursts, stirring each time, until just melted. Alternatively, melt it gently over warm water. Stir in the optional vegetable oil only if needed for a smooth piping consistency. Never add water.
Pipe the bandages. Spoon the melted chocolate into a small piping bag and snip a tiny opening. Pipe irregular diagonal and horizontal lines across each brownie so they resemble overlapping strips of mummy bandage. Leave a little gap near the top for the face.
Add the eyes. Put two tiny dots of melted white chocolate into each gap and press a dark chocolate chip onto each dot, pointed side down. If using ready-made edible eyes, attach them while the white chocolate is still soft.
Allow to set. Leave the decorated brownies in a cool place for 15–20 minutes until the white chocolate firms up. Arrange on a platter and serve.
Notes
Equipment:
- 20 cm square baking tin
- Baking paper
- Medium heatproof bowl and saucepan
- Hand whisk and spatula
- Piping bag or small food-safe freezer bag
- Sharp knife
Getting the brownies right:
- Do not overbake. Brownies continue to firm up as they cool. Look for moist crumbs on the skewer rather than waiting until it comes out completely dry.
- Cool before decorating. White chocolate will melt into warm brownies instead of forming neat raised stripes.
- Use a small piping opening. Thin, uneven lines look more like wrapped bandages than a thick blanket of icing.
- Make the eyes visible. Leave a clear space near the top of each square, then pipe bandages around it.
Serving suggestions:
- Serve on a Halloween dessert platter alongside fruit, biscuits or chocolate-dipped strawberries.
- Pair with vanilla ice cream for a richer dessert, or serve as small party treats.
- Use contrasting dark chocolate chips for the eyes so the faces stand out against the white bandages.
Variations:
- Milk chocolate brownies: Replace up to half of the dark chocolate with milk chocolate for a sweeter result, keeping the overall quantity the same.
- Orange-chocolate mummies: Add the finely grated zest of 1 orange to the batter.
- Nutty version: Fold 75 g chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter before baking; clearly label nuts for guests.
- Dairy-free adaptation: Use suitable dairy-free baking fat and chocolates, checking the labels and expecting a slightly different texture.
Make ahead and storage:
- Bake the plain brownies a day in advance, cool fully and store airtight before decorating.
- Store the finished brownies in an airtight container in a cool room for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Let chilled brownies come towards room temperature before serving for the fudgiest texture.
- Freeze undecorated brownies, well wrapped, for up to 2 months. Thaw covered, then add the white-chocolate decorations.
- Contains egg, wheat and milk with the listed ingredients; some chocolate products may also contain soya or have nut cross-contact warnings. Check the packaging when serving guests with allergies.
Timing: Allow about 20 minutes to prepare, 28–33 minutes to bake and around 1 hour 15 minutes for cooling and decorating; approximately 2 hours 10 minutes overall.
About this recipe
Rich, fudgy chocolate brownies dressed up as little Halloween mummies with thin ribbons of white chocolate and tiny chocolate eyes. They look impressive on a party table, but the decorating is simple enough to do with children once the brownies have cooled.
The brownie base has a slightly crisp, papery top and a dense, moist centre. Melted dark chocolate gives it a deeper flavour than cocoa powder alone, while the white-chocolate “bandages” add sweetness and contrast. For the best finish, bake the brownies ahead, let them cool completely, then cut and decorate each square individually.
