Brownies

I have been making brownies with different types of recipe, chocolate and method but only one seems to stand from the crowd. It is the simplest brownie to prepare amongst the plethora of recipes I have gathered over the years and it never fails to satisfy.

As with many comfort foods, we are divided when it comes to how textures, serving temperatures and flavours ought to be - like whether a true brownie should be fudge-like or cake-like by nature. I like mine a little bit of both - cakey top and bottom with a fudge-like centre. The presence of nuts is desirable though not obligatory, depending very much on the circumstance. If they should be present, I favour walnuts over pecans, though I couldn't say why. Peanuts are sometimes a welcome change but only if they are accompanied by chunks of chewy caramel candy but this complicates things a little.

This is a good chocolate brownie that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Something that will hopefully unite the factions of our brownie-eating community once and for all.

brownies

200g cooking chocolate, I used Nestle Plaistowe Dark Chocolate

100g unsalted butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 cold large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

(makes 8 generous squares measuring 8x6.5cm)

preheat oven to 170C and line the base of a brownie pan with baking paper

melt butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals for 2 minutes checking and stirring after each interval

beat sugar, salt, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until well combined - takes about a minute with a whisk by hand

add chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir well to combine

sift flour and cocoa into this mixture, beat for 1 minute then pour mixture into the prepared pan

bake for 35-45 minutes (NB this bit is tricky, overcooking results in a cakey brownie, undercooking will give a goopey result. I checked mine after 35 minutes then let it cook for another 5 before taking it out of the oven and removing it from the pan to prevent it from overcooking)

allow to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to slice