Trial and Error: We try chocolate brownies made with mayonnaise

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There's nothing quite like the smell of warm brownies wafting out of the oven and warming your house with their delicious scent.

Just the right amount of chocolate, a chunk of butter, maybe some nuts thrown in for a bit of texture and, of course, half a cup of mayonnaise. Wait - what?

That's right, you read the above correctly. The condiment staple has recently earned praise for being so much more than just the crowning goo in a good burger or sandwich.

When a recipe claiming mayonnaise was the key ingredient to create the "most decadent brownies" ever, our initial reaction was one of shock.

But as we apprehensively - then enthusiastically - tucked into these morsels we realised we needed to take them to the people: Behold, the official Trial and Error Mayo Brownie Taste Test of 2018.

The taste test

After some initial hesitation and some NSFW guesses, we managed to talk several colleagues into chowing down on the mystery brownies, asking them to guess what the secret ingredient was.

ZM staff member Gary was first up to the plate. He guessed toothpaste, rice oil, coconut oil, peanut butter and finally, aloe vera. Nice try Gary.

Radio Hauraki's Tom took the next guess. He wondered if some raspberry jam had been snuck into the moist (sorry) morsels.

All our taste testers noted the brownies were particularly moist and gooey. But would they still enjoy them after finding out what they were made of?

The reveal

On learning the brownies contained mayonnaise, The Hit's content producer Rach decided that perhaps she was sensing a "mayonnaisey aftertaste". Or was it just all in her head?

Storme from Flava said the creations were "pretty good" regardless of the secret ingredient. Tom decided he like them so much he'd be taking the jar of Best Foods home with him.

The Herald's social media producer Eleanor was pleased when she learned what the secret ingredient was, declaring: "Oh wow! I love mayonnaise."

So do we, Eleanor. So do we.

The recipe

If you want to give them a go at home, check out the recipe below and be sure to share your snaps on Instagram using the hashtag #nzhlifestyle.