Chocolate brownies

Chocolate brownies are a convenient source of chocolate. With chocolate being the most important of the five food groups, you ought to plan your day carefully so that you do not get caught without it during either morning or afternoon tea.

The problem with chocolate brownies, of course, is that they are at their fudgy best when you take them out of the oven. We found it works well to eat half of it on the spot, and the rest a bit later.

Ingredients

  • 250 gram chocolate (we prefer Whittakers 50 % dark)
  • 85 gram butter
  • 175 gram sugar, which you can reduce to 150 gram if you use milk chocolate
  • pinch salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 55 gram flour

Optional:

  • about 70 gram walnuts, toasted and chopped into large pieces, or
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon, with ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon chili, or
  • 1 teaspoon coffee extract, or
  • frozen raspberries, or
  • 30 gram chocolate chips

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C.
  2. Line a 20 cm x 20 cm cake tin with baking paper.
  3. In a large bowl, melt the butter and chocolate in a microwave oven for a minute. Stir with a wooden spoon and return to the microwave  oven for another 30 seconds.
  4. Once melted, stir in the sugar and beat well with a wooden spoon.
    Add the salt, vanilla and optional flavouring, and continue to beat well until e the micture is quite smooth.
  5. Add one egg at a time, beating in well each time.
  6. Add the sifted flour and fold in gently. The should be glossy, and should comes away from the side of the bowl.
  7. Pour into prepared tin.
  8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. It is ready when a skewer comes out moist, but clean. 
  9. Do not overcook, Brownies should be fudgy and moist. Just a wee bit undercooked is fine.

Notes

If you cut the baking paper longer than needed, you can use the extra paper to lift the brownie out in one piece when it comes out of the oven.

Baking paper is one of those things that just won’t stay put in a cake tin. We use a couple of clothes pegs to hold it into position, until the batter has gone in. Remember to remove them before you pop tin brownie into the oven!

If you use berries, add them last, after you've poured the batter into the tin. Press each berry down into the batter, until it is just covered.