Brownies

The basic brownie recipe that is not basic AT ALL.

Once you've perfected this, you can move on to adding fillings & toppings of your choice. Pretty much anything goes.

If you want them topped with chocolate chunks or chopped chocolate bars, then add these as soon as the brownies come out of the oven. That way they melt a little and stick themselves down.

As always, the better quality ingredients you use, the better the outcome, so please go for real butter and decent quality chocolate if you can. However, cheap supermarket chocolate and baking blocks such as Stork still give a thoroughly decent brownie.

Brownies

Makes one 30 x 18cm tray - recommended 16 servings

Ingredients:

• 185 g butter. Baking block also works, but nothing out of a tub or they won't have the fudgey texture.

• 185g dark chocolate, min. 54% cocoa solids. The higher the cocoa solids, the more bitter the chocolate taste, so if you love it very dark you can go up to 85%

• 150g plain flour

• 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 45g cocoa

• 3 large eggs

• 310g light brown soft sugar. Caster or golden caster will also work, but the LBS gives a fudgier texture

Method:

1. Line the baking tray with parchment. No need to do this if you're using a foil tray.

2. Melt together the butter and chocolate over a very low heat. Leave to cool for at least 20 minutes, but keep stirring as it cools so it doesn't set firm at the edges.

3. Preheat the oven to 140C/280F if you have a fan oven, otherwise 160C/320F or gas mark 3.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until very light and frothy.

5. Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder until well mixed.

6. Fold together both 'wet' bowls, then gently fold in the dry ingredients.

7. Tip into the baking tray and spread them out - they don't need to be perfectly flat, give them a bit of character by all means.

8. Add any toppings now, swirling through, or sprinkling over the top and lightly pressing them down so they don't all fall off when you cut them up.

9. Bake for approx. 40 minutes. The middle should still have a slight wobble at this point.

10. Leave to cool completely, then chill overnight in the fridge before slicing. Serve at room temperature.

These freeze really well for up to 3 months in an airtight container.