These are seriously wicked, moist, lush brownies that you have to make once before you die. I used Green and Blacks Organic 70% dark chocolate, dried sour cherries, and roughly chopped brazil nuts to get maximum intensity.
Before the bake
25 minutes later….
Ok, so having never made Brownies, I knew I wanted them to be super rich, very dark and moist and after a bit of research, decided on following Jamie Olivers recipe. He adds whole sour cherries to cut against the rich sweetness. It’s a really easy recipe to follow and the only thing is make sure you check them before the recommended 25 minutes in the oven as they mustn’t over bake.
• 250g unsalted butter
• 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
• optional: 150 g dried sour cherries
• optional: 75 g chopped nuts
• 80g cocoa powder, sifted
• 65g plain flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 360g caster sugar
• 4 large free-range or organic eggs
• optional: zest of 1 orange
• optional: 250ml crème fraîchePreheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the cherries and nuts, if you’re using them, and stir together. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, cherry and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.
Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares. This is a fab dessert served with some crème fraîche mixed with a lilttle orange zest according to the maistro. We are eating them just as they are!
Yep, that’s right… Chocolate, and butter…
And tons of sour cherries and roughly chopped nuts make for one luscious brownie mix.
