Baking Sundays: Delicious Chocolate Brownies

Since I returned from uni,  my sister's been incessantly requesting that I make her a batch of brownies (she'd do it herself but they'd only burn). Today I caved in and boy I do not regret it! I mean look at them in all their gooey glory... they're delicious. 

 I love a good brownie, and I'm not gonna lie to you, these are not exactly guilt free. They aren't secretly sugar free, I didn't find an alternative to fat and they're obviously stuffed full of chocolate, but don't we all deserve a naughty treat once in while? 

Clockwise from top left: Ingredients all ready to go, frothy whisked eggs and sugar, finished brownie mix, end result

They're super quick and easy to make and trust me, oh so satisfying. Just melt a little butter and chocolate, whisk up some eggs and sugar, and mix it all together with a touch of flour and cocoa powder and voila! your brownies are ready to bake, filling your house with that lovely brownie smell. And as if this wasn't bad enough for me already, I went and over indulged, making this gorgeous salted caramel sauce to pour alllll over the top. I recommend it- it's seriously good.

So give them a go, you won't regret it ;)

How can you resist?

Chocolate Brownies

100g Dark chocolate

100g Milk Chocolate

185g Unsalted butter (cut into squares)

85g Doves Farm plain flour (feel free to use normal wheat flour)

40g Cocoa powder

3 eggs

150g Caster Sugar

100g Soft light brown sugar

A few drops of vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4 and line a brownie pan (you could also use a square cake tin, or I use a baking tray with slightly steeper sides).

Break your chocolate into small pieces and melt along with your butter, either in short bursts in the microwave or in a bowl on top of a saucepan of hot water. Once both the chocolate and butter have melted, remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. 

In a larger bowl whisk together your eggs and both sugars until they form a frothy, almost mousse-like mixture (I recommend using an electric whisk unless you've got very strong arms!). The mixture will have increased in size and will be paler in colour. To this, mix in your melted chocolate and butter until fully combined and add a few drops of vanilla. Finally sift in both the flour and cocoa powder and gentle fold in- careful you don't over mix it.

Pour you mixture into your prepared tin and place in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Keep an eye on your brownies as you don't want them to overcook- everyone knows a gooey brownie is the best kind! Unlike when baking a cake, a skewer inserted should not come out clean.

Once removed from the oven, leave the brownies to cool in the tin before removing and cutting into as many pieces as you like. I know it's tempting, but don't cut into them too early or you'll just end up with one big gooey mess!

Serve either warm or cold with whatever accompaniments you like.

Enjoy!

Alice

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