Death by Chocolate Brownie......

After a very hectic few weeks at home, things have finally started to calm down again.

There was Little B's christening, which entailed what felt like a mammoth amount of organisation and cooking, and then Miss. B's school summer fayre to bake something for too.

All of this activity culminated in my oven giving up on me, with a tray of bownies in there- arghhhhhhh

The element had burnt out. So, with a visit from my lovely handy man to repair it, and £55 the worse for wear, I was able to make some more of these delightful treats, ready for the summer fayre.

My quest for the 'perfect brownie' has gone on for many years (and probably will continue forever), and this one comes pretty darn close!The recipe is very straight forward and credit for the recipe must go to theboywhobakes.co.uk 

I have used different types of brown sugar in the recpie at times, depending upon what I have to hand, and the mix has always given that lovely deep fudge flavour.

You will need :

180g plain flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

Generous pinch of salt

300g dark chocolate ( at least 60% cocoa solids)

200g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

220g light brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Pre heat your oven to 180c / 160c fan / gas mark 4. Grease and line a 23 x 33 cm tray. I used these foil trays from Lakeland .Great for transporting in afterwards if necessary, and saves on the washing up.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt together into a bowl and set aside.

3. In a medium pan set over a medium heat melt the chocolate and butter togerther, whisk in the sugars and then remove from the heat.

4. Firmly whisk in the eggs and vanilla until nice and fluffy and well combined. The batter should have slightly thickened by now.

5, Fold in the flour until just combined. Take care not to overwork the mixture. Pour the batter into your prepared tin and level the mix over with a spatula.

(Do you like my Teddy Bear Cookie Jar? I've had him for years and I never tire of his friendly, inviting smile!)

6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or so. The batter should have a delicate crust over the top and a skewer inserted into the centre should have a few moist crumbs on it.

(You are not seeing double here - I baked two trays - one for school and one for home)

Allow to cool in the pan completely before removing. Slice up into whatever size squares you like. I vary my slices depending on my mood. Small bite size are good because you can wolf down half a dozen and not feel too guilty. The larger squares are perhaps for the more discerning of guests that like to savour each mouthful. Either way they taste delicious!!

I hope you enjoy baking these brownies, and enjoy eating them even more!

Enjoy your day.

B x