Looking for a delicious and indulgent dessert that will satisfy your chocolate cravings? Try our Mars Bar Brownies! These heavenly treats are loaded with chunks of chewy Mars Bars, surrounded by fudgy brownie goodness. With our simple recipe, you can whip up a batch in no time and impress your friends and family with your baking skills. So why wait? Treat yourself to a taste of heaven with our Mars Bar Brownies today!
*This post may contain affiliate links to products I find useful when making this recipe. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*
Brownies are one of my favourite things to make. Probably because they are also one of my favourite things to eat.
Like cookies or easy cakes, you can add anything to brownies once you’ve got a basic recipe that always works well.
But, there is a knack to making brownies, and it will to an extent depend on your oven.
This mars brownie recipe works well for me, but you might find a shorter or longer bake is better, to help you to get that fudgy brownie texture.
It also does depend on your personal taste. I like my brownies probably slightly underdone. Some people prefer a more cake-like texture.
But when you get it right, brownies are super easy to make and always delicious, and things like Mars Bar brownies are an extra decadent and delicious treat!
Ingredients for Mars Bar Brownies
When I make this easy Mars Bar Brownie recipe I use:
Butter – Or margarine, to be honest, I’m more likely to use margarine than room temp butter!
Dark Chocolate – I prefer the rich flavour of dark chocolate, but you might prefer milk.
Caster Sugar – You can use brown sugar too, which works well with the caramel flavour of the Mars Bars.
Eggs
Plain Flour
Cocoa
Mars Bars – They don’t have to be branded, any sorta supermarket dupe is fine too. They don’t have to be big either!
What Chocolate is Best for Brownies?
I usually use dark chocolate when I make brownies. Just cheap Aldi cooking chocolate.
You can use higher quality, but I think this is fine.
I also sometimes use milk chocolate. The flavour isn’t as rich, but still yummy.
Much like baking times, I’d experiment until you find the taste that you like best.
How to Make Mars Bar Brownies – Step by Step
I try to keep my recipes as simple as possible, and this recipe for Mars Bar chocolate Brownies is no different. You can get full quantities and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, but there are more tips and photos here.
Step One
Start by slicing and freezing your Mars Bars. I go for slices of about 1cm, but some smaller and larger is fine, you don’t need to worry about being exact.
Then place in a sealed bag or airtight tub and freeze for about an hour. Longer is fine too.
I freeze them so that they don’t just melt into the mix, and you are left with some nugget and caramel bits in each square of brownie.
Step Two
Line a brownie tin with baking paper. I use reusable paper, and this brownie tin (affiliate link) which around 12 inches by 9 inches.
It’s okay if your tin is a little bigger or smaller, you will just need to adjust your bake times a little to compensate for them being thinner or thicker.
You don’t need to use a specific brownie tin either. A cake tin or even a deep baking tray is fine too.
Step Three
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Mine is fan assisted, so you might want to add 10-20 degrees if yours isn’t. And adjust if you know your oven runs hot or cold.
Step Four
Melt the dark chocolate and butter together. I do this with a Bain Marie, but you can also do it directly in a pan over low heat, stirring often, or in the microwave.
Basically, however you usually melt chocolate.
Once it’s melted and all mixed, remove this chocolate mixture from the heat and leave to one side.
Step Five
In a small bowl, mix the flour and cocoa.
Step Six
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs.
I whisk with an electric whisk on high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is thick and pale. You will see a visible colour change, and it will be thick enough to leave a trail when you lift the whisk.
This can take a while, and I wouldn’t want to do it by hand.
Step Seven
Fold the melted chocolate into the egg and sugar mix.
Fold until the colour is fairly even, but don’t over-mix.
Step Eight
Sift in the flour and cocoa and fold again.
A few lumps are probably just air, so don’t worry. If in doubt, it’s better to under-mix brownies.
Step Nine
Generally, now I fold in most of the Mars Bar Slices, leaving a few to decorate the top.
But you might prefer to pour the mix into the tin and add the Mars Bars. That’s fine too. Just press in gently.
Step Ten
Pour the brownie mix into the tin, and add the Mars Bars if you didn’t fold them in.
Step Eleven
Bake for around 25-30 minutes.
Step Twelve
Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool.
Step Thirteen
While the brownies are still warm, melt some chocolate to drizzle over, with either a piping bag or a spoon, and add the remaining Mars Bar slices.
You might prefer to drizzle with caramel sauce instead, but I like chocolate!
Step Fourteen
Once completely cool, remove from the tin, peel away the paper and slice. If you are worried that they are too warm, or a little underbaked, you can put them in the fridge for an hour to cool and set. This can help to get that brownie texture.
How Do You Know When Brownies are Baked?
When you’ve been baking chocolate brownies for a while, you get to know when they are done, just by looking at them.
But if you are unsure, there are two main things that I look for.
First, is a solid middle.
The edges cook first, so they start to come away from the sides of the pan and will look and feel baked early on. But for a while, the middle of the pan will look baked on top but will be totally raw and wobbly inside.
If you were to slice your brownies with Mars Bars now, the middle would be basically liquid.
When they are done, if you give the tin a wobble, the middle is set, and it doesn’t jiggle about like jelly.
The second way to check is with the good old skewer test.
A skewer shouldn’t come out of the middle completely clean, as it would with a sponge cake. But it shouldn’t have wet brownie batter on it either.
You are looking for a few fudgy crumbs.
Top Tips for Perfect Brownies Every Time!
My top tips for perfect brownies all of the time are:
- Don’t undermix your eggs and sugar. You want it nice and thick, and for the colour to have become very pale. It should leave a trail when you lift the whisk out. 5 minutes with an electric whisk on full power should be enough, but carry on if you need to.
- After this part, it’s all about not overmixing! Fold the chocolate, flour, and Mars Bars in carefully. It’s better to undermix than overmix.
- I prefer an underbaked brownie. You can put them in the fridge and they kind of set. Overbaked are like cakes.
- Don’t be scared to keep checking every 5 minutes after about 20 minutes. They aren’t like cakes, so you don’t need to worry about opening the oven as much. Give the tray a wobble, or even a poke, to make sure the middle is cooked.
- If the outsides are cooking much faster, cover them with foil to stop them from burning. If you can, just cover the outside and leave the middle uncovered. But covering the whole thing won’t hurt.
- Get to know your oven. Mine runs hot. Some run cold. Some are wholly temperamental and frankly, liars. When it comes to making the best brownies, practice is key!
- Find a brownies recipes that work for you, your taste, and your oven, and then start adding things. It might not be mine. This recipe works for me. But I can’t guarantee that it’ll be right for you.
What To Do with Underbaked Brownies
I prefer to err on the side of underbaked brownies because there are a few things that you can do to fix them.
The first, of course, is to pop them back in the oven.
If you start to slice your brownies only to find that the middle is mushy, carefully lift them back into the pan and bake for another 10 minutes or so. They might not be as neat and tidy, but they will be perfectly edible.
If they are only slightly underdone, and you’d rather not bake them again, I recommend keeping them in the fridge. They set to a more solid texture, which can be delicious.
What to Do with Overbaked Brownies
There’s nothing you can really do with an overbaked brownie. But it is basically a chocolate cake with Mars Bars in it, and there’s nothing at all wrong with that!
Serve warm with ice cream and they’ll be gorgeous!
Can You Freeze Mars Bar Brownies?
Yes.
Brownies freeze really well.
They do stick together though, so either wrap them individually or put a sheet of baking paper between them if you are freezing in an airtight tub.
How Long Do Mars Bar Brownies Last?
These Mars Bar Brownies will last for around a week. Brownies are super moist and full of sugar, so they typically last for longer than cake.
You can keep them in the fridge, but you don’t need to. I do recommend keeping covered though.
Mars Bar Brownies
Ingredients
- 200 g Unsalted Butter (Or margarine)
- 200 g Dark Chocolate (Broken into squares)
- 250 g Caster Sugar
- 4 Medium Eggs
- 125 g Plain Flour
- 50 g Cocoa Powder
- 350 g Mars Bars
- 50 g Dark Chocolate (To drizzle on top-optional)
Instructions
- Slice the Mar’s Bars into around 1cm slices, place in a sealed bag or airtight container, and freeze for around an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (Fan-Assisted) and line a brownie tin with baking paper.
- Mix the flour and cocoa in a small bowl.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together, in the microwave, over a Bain Marie, or carefully in a pan over low heat, stirring often.
- In a large mixing whisk the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes at a high speed (it may take longer by hand; I recommend an electric whisk) until the mixture is thick and pale.
- Carefully fold through the melted chocolate and butter.
- Sift in the flour and cocoa and fold carefully.
- You can either fold most of the mars bar pieces (retaining a few to decorate) into the mix before pouring into the tin, or you can pour the mixture into the baking tray and press the slices in afterward.
- Either way, spread the brownie mix into the edges and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the edges are coming away and the middle stays solid when you give the tin a wobble.
- If the middle is still very soft, but the edges start looking overdone, cover carefully in foil and continue to bake.
- Leave to cool in the tin.
- While the brownies are still warm, melt the chocolate to drizzle and roughly drizzle over with a piping bag or spoon.
- Add the remaining slices of mars bar.
- When the brownies are completely cool, remove them from the tin, peel away the paper and slice carefully.
Notes
- My brownie tin is 12 inches x 9 inches. If yours is a little bigger or smaller, it should be okay, just adjust your baking times accordingly – A smaller tin will mean deeper brownies, which will need longer to cook.
- Brownies are done when the centre is solid if you give the tin a little wobble. The edges should also be starting to come away from the sides of the pan. If it’s still wobbly, pop them back in for 5 minutes.
- If you prefer to use the skewer test, your skewer won’t come out of the centre totally clean, like with a sponge cake, but it shouldn’t have wet mixture on it either. Something like a few fudgy crumbs is perfect.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
