Brownies

Quadruple Chocolate Brownies

(inspired by Anthony Worrall Thompson & Alhambra Publications)

Makes about 12

Ingredients:

• 400g caster sugar
• 100g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 100g plain flour
• 25g drinking chocolate or cocoa powder
• 85g good quality plain dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids) broken into pieces
• 100g packet milk chocolate drops
• 100g packet white chocolate drops
• 4 medium eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (not essence)
• 1 secret ingredient

Method:

• Preheat oven to 190C/ fan oven 170C/ Gas 5.
• Butter a 28x18cm shallow baking tin and line the base and sides with non-stick baking parchment.
• Melt the butter with the chocolate in a ‘large’ heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla extract and sugar. Mix thoroughly. The eggs may look as though they will scramble when first added to the warm chocolate but keep stirring and the mixture should come together.
• Sift the flour with the cocoa powder over the mixture; first fold then beat-in until evenly incorporated. If using drinking chocolate there may be some sugar granules left after sifting – you can add these to the mixture if you wish.
• Stir in the chocolate drops and secret ingredient.
• Spoon the mixture into the tin and spread evenly.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 - 35 minutes until set on the surface, but still moist in the middle. Leave to cool in the tin. Don’t worry if the surface cracks – this is normal.
• Turn out when completely cold and cut into squares or bars to serve.