Chocolate Rum and Raisin Brownies

My brownie recipe is one of my absolute favourites! The brownies are chewy, deliciously intensely chocolate flavoured, with a good Muscovado darkness as an aftertaste.   They are always positively hoovered up by my friends, singing teacher and choir!    This time I thought I’d use up some raisins steeped in rum (what strange leftovers I do have, to be sure!) to see if I could improve on perfection.   The verdict was – yes! yes! yes!  

They also work well being gluten free.   Like all dried fruits, raisins get better the longer you leave them in the steeping liquid.   Alcohol dries them out, so the warm sugar syrup is like the best anti-wrinkle treatment on earth - because you're worth it, darling....

Chocolate Rum and Raisin Brownies 

Chocolate, Rum and Raisin Brownies

4oz/110g plain chocolate

5oz/140g 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

2oz/50g chopped pecans

2oz/50g raisins steeped in

2tbsp rum

2tbsp sugar brought to the boil in 3tbsp water

Steep the raisins first.  If time is short, pour the hot syrup over the raisins, add the rum and leave while you are putting together the other ingredients.  If the raisins are not covered, add more rum. 

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.  Mix until just combined (this gives the best brownie texture).   Fold the melted chocolate into the beaten egg mix, then add the flour, drained raisins and nuts.   I also added some of the rummy syrup. 

Spread into the tin and cook for up to 25 minutes – the mixture will puff up a little 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!