The T-Rex of the tray bake, the Brownie is possibly one of the most gorgeous baked goodies on the planet, and predictably, considering how sinfully indulgent it is, it hails from across the pond. When making brownies I prefer them to be quite crunchy on the outside, and gorgeously gooey on the inside, so this recipe has a fairly hefty serving of sugar to make a lovely crunchy crust. So long as you don’t eat Brownies all the time, there’s no harm in treating yourself! For best results, eat the brownies while warm with a delish dollop of vanilla ice-cream or a squirt of whipped-cream – or both if you’re feeling naughty!
Ingredients:
4 0z Self-Raising Flour
2 Tbsps Cocoa Powder
8 Oz Butter
10 Oz Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
As many or as few Dark Chocolate Chips as you like.
A small-to-medium square / rectangular baking tray.
Preheat oven to: 180˚ C.
Instructions:
1) Grease your baking tray and then line it with greaseproof paper – just saves time once you’ve made the mix.
2) Cream the butter and sugar together till they’re both combined – it should look creamy but with the sugar still glistening a little on top.
3) Beat the eggs together in a mug until they’re nicely combined to a single orange mass.
4) Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into the mixing bowl , and then add in about 1/3 of the egg mix. Mix together with the butter and sugar until it’s started to combine into a single mixture, then add another 1/3 and beat again for about 1-2 minutes if using an electric mixer and 2-3 if by hand and then add the final third till you have a gorgeous, gloopy chocolate mix. If it’s looking a little dry add a splash of milk, which should put you back on track.
5) Now for the chocolate chips. I tend to use about half a packet so you get a nice even concentration but some people like more, some people like less, so really as few or as little as you like. Alternatively if you want to try and make it healthy you could add some hazelnuts, although to be honest if you’ve gone as far as making the mix you might as well throw caution to the wind and whack in the chocolate chips, but each to their own!
6) Bung the mix into the tray and whack it in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes. If you prefer molten brownies then nearer to 30 is better, but if you fancy a crunchy crisp on the outside leave them in a little longer. Ideally rest on a wire cooling rack for about 5 minutes and then dig-in. In the unlikely event of hosting a dinner party, a dash of icing sugar sieved over the top of them will spruce them up perfectly. They should keep for 3-4 days, assuming of course, you don’t eat them all as soon as they’re out of the oven!