Lighten up a winters day with some dark chocolate brownies!

Student baking: a beginners guide

During my time at Uni, I’ve found that the best way to make and keep friends (aside from the obvious stuff like washing up and watching Doctor Who) is to bake. Baking well and often is the secret to being liked (have you ever heard anyone say that they dislike Mary Berry? Thought not.) Female bakers are regularly referred to as goddesses (or if they’re not, THEY SHOULD BE) and male bakers are, quite frankly, very sexy.

But here’s the real secret: making sweet treats isn’t actually that hard. As I shall prove, by showing you my fail-safe recipe for gooey, chocolaty brownies that are perfectly suited to a student’s budget.

And yes, you may now call me a goddess.

Easy Chocolate Brownies

You will need:
100g plain chocolate (any brand is fine)
225g butter (or margarine)
200g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 free-range eggs (Iceland sell packs of 6 for £1)
50g plain flour
60g cocoa powder (I’ve tried most of the supermarket own brands and they are all high-quality. Just don’t use the drinking chocolate powder, it doesn’t taste as good)
Pinch of salt
Grease proof paper
A square/circular tin

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan) or gas mark 4.

2. Grease and line a square baking tin. If you don’t have a square tin, don’t stress! Just use a normal round cake tin, all it means is that your brownies will be a slightly different shape.

(TIP: How to grease: put a little bit of butter on some kitchen roll and rub it over the tin’s bottom and sides until it has a thin layer all over. This means the gooey mixture won’t stick to the tin. Then line the tin with greaseproof paper – if you leave it a little longer so it runs over the edges of the tin, it means you can simply lift the brownies out once they’re cooked).

3. Break up the chocolate and melt with the butter in a small saucepan. Make sure there are no lumps, then put the saucepan to one side and leave to cool.

4. Mix the caster sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl (I normally use a whisk for this, to get as much air into the mixture as possible). Add in the chocolate mixture and mix well.

5. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture (the sifting is important as it gets some air into the brownies). Add a pinch of salt and mix until smooth.

6. Pour the mixture into your greased and lined tin. Bang the tin on the counter to remove any large bubbles.

7. Bake for about 20 minutes. To check whether the brownies are cooked, put a knife into the centre of the tin. It should bring out moist crumbs, if it’s still gooey then it needs a little longer.

8. Remove the brownies from the oven (using a tea towel or preferably oven gloves.)

9. Leave them to cool for about half an hour (don’t be tempted to remove them from the tin as they will still be cooking).

10. When they’ve cooled down a bit, grab the edges of the grease proof paper and lift out the brownies. You can then cut them into squares (be as generous or stingy as you like!) and dust a little bit of icing sugar on top.

Watch your brownies disappear…just remember to save a couple for when you’re watching Doctor Who!