There’s nothing quite like a good chocolate brownie.
It’s not quite a cake, not quite a biscuit, but more of an indulgence than either. A good chocolate brownie recipe is one of those things every cook should have up his or her sleeve.
This recipe is excellent, a straightforward brownie recipe with an extra flourish that lifts it above the mundane.
Start by melting 225g of dark chocolate in a bowl set over a simmering pan of water. The quality of the chocolate is paramount, and it should have at least 70% cocoa content.
Leave the chocolate to melt, gently. Don’t stir it, just keep the flame low and let it melt.
Sift 110g of plain flour, 70g of cocoa powder, and half a teaspoon each of salt and baking powder together into a large bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, beat together 225g of softened butter and 200g of caster sugar until light and coffee coloured, before slowly mixing in two beaten eggs and another two extra yolks.
Fold in the flour and cocoa and mix in 120g of halved pecan nuts.
Tip the mixture out into a square cake tin, 20cm by 20cm, and bake for sixteen minutes at 160c.
The normal test for cake doneness does not apply here. The point of a chocolate brownie is that it should be soft and gooey in the middle, slightly undercooked. Test the brownies with the point of a knife – if the blade comes out with some bits stuck to it, but the cake mix isn’t raw, it’s done.
Leave to cool completely before turning out and cutting into twelve massive or twenty-four sensible pieces.
The ‘leaving to cool’ part can be difficult. After she’d finished with the spoon, Lara checked the brownies every five minutes for an hour before pulling up a chair and declaring that she’d ‘just watch them for a bit’.
She still had to wait until after teatime to try one, though…
This recipe is from Canteen: Great British Food
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
oooh these look amazing! rich and the perfect consistency
your pictures are great too, an awesome way to share a smile!
Haha, the first photo is hilarious. I love the recipe. Brownies made from scratch rather than from a box are always better. And of course crunchy nuts and extra chocolate make them extra better. Thanks for sharing!
The first picture is too nice and the brownies very delicious!
Thanks, all. My model is suitably unimpressed with her new-found fame
Thank face is so classic! She looks so guilty love it!
I agree with you 110% there is NOTHING finer than a good chocolate brownie! These look fabulous and the little girl, well that's exactly how I feel!
i think i just may end up buying that cookbook. the spoon-licking photo alone is enough to persuade me.
Precious first pic! These brownies do indeed look very good – I have all I need, including some excellent chocolate and I'm making these today for tea.
What an adorable little girl! You're right – everyone should have a good brownie recipe and this definitely looks like it fits the bill.
Oh, dear! I almost fell off my chair in giggles at the little girl's picture here.
Thank you for sharing your recipe with us. These look great but then I love brownies.
thanks – it is a cracking photo isn't it? She's like that all the time.
That picture alone is enough to sell anyone on your recipe. Great job!
Thanks – believe me, that sort of sideways glance is not uncommon in our house…
Looks like the perfect chocolate brownies to me. cute presentation
Wow, these sound amazing! I am a sucker for a good brownie!
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