Easy Chocolate Brownies

This is a favourite recipe - there are many brownies, some more cakey than others, but this is perfect - chewy with an intense chocolate taste and a kick of muscovado.  It works brilliantly well made with rice flour for a gluten-free treat.   Thanks to my neighbour Emma and her keen baker daughter Celia for reuniting me with this recipe.    The photo below shows white chocolate chunks - delicious....  Together with home made vanilla ice cream and a fruit compote, this makes a fabulous pudding.

Easy Chocolate Brownies

Easy Chocolate Brownies

40z/100g plain chocolate

5oz/150g butter

4 ½ oz/125g plain flour (or rice flour)

½ oz/15g cocoa powder

10 ½ oz/300g soft muscovado sugar

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

4oz/100g chopped pecans/walnuts

(2oz/50g chocolate chunks)

Preheat oven to 180 deg C, and line a baking tin (9” square, or oblong tin depending if you want the brownies thinner or thicker!) with non-stick baking parchment. 

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave, stir the chocolate into the butter so it all mixes together (it is better to under-heat the chocolate and stir out the lumps using the residual heat in the butter).  

Sieve the flour, cocoa and baking powder together.    In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs, adding the sugar and vanilla.  Mix until just combined (this gives the best brownie texture).   Fold the melted chocolate into the beaten egg mix, then add the flour and nuts.  

Spread into the tin and cook for up to 25 minutes – the mixture will rise in the tin, but it is better that it is undercooked rather than solid.    Cut into squares when cool, if you can wait that long!