- Makes 16 brownies – Ready in 4 hours (3 hours of cooling time is included) –
Gather together…
125g milk-cooking-chocolate (broken into its squares). **NOTE: This recipe uses 200g chocolate in total (as you'll need some to use as chunks later in the recipe)** Cooking chocolate melts far more easily than regular chocolate and is much less likely to shock and split. Sainsbury's own-brand cooking chocolate is sold in foil and card (so is plastic-free), Green & Black's cooking chocolate is plastic-free AND palm oil-free, but is too pricey for me to use regularly.
185g butter (sliced and diced, ready to melt).
4 medium (free range) eggs.
275g brown sugar (any brown sugar is fine, I usually use Demerara).
85g plain flour (sieved).
40g cocoa powder (sieved).
75g milk-cooking-chocolate (chopped into 0.5cm x 0.5cm pieces). Cooking chocolate melts far more easily than regular chocolate and is much less likely to shock and split. Sainsbury's own-brand cooking chocolate is sold in foil and card (so is plastic-free), Green & Black's cooking chocolate is plastic-free AND palm oil-free, but is too pricey for me to use regularly.
16 jelly worms / mini jelly snakes, such as these (which have about 35 sweets in the packet) or these (which I haven't tried yet).
Get making…
1. Boil a 1/4 full kettle of water.
2. Into a heat-proof medium bowl (or use the top pan of an official bain marie set if you are lucky enough to have one), weigh out the 125g of milk-cooking-chocolate (break the chocolate into chunks, along the lines the chocolate is imprinted with). Also add the 185g of sliced-and-diced butter to the heat-proof bowl.
3. Put the boiling kettle water into a small / medium saucepan (this will make the base of your bain marie) or into the base of an actual bain marie of you have one, on the hob and heat it gently on LOW to keep it warm. On top of this pan place the medium heat-proof bowl (ensure the bubbling water DOES NOT touch the bowl, it is the radiating warmth that should be heating the bowl not the water itself, or the ingredients will burn). This 'bain marie' set-up will gently melt the ingredients in about 10 minutes. DON'T be tempted to just melt them in a saucepan as the mixture WOULD stick and burn to the base. Stir the chocolatey-buttery mixture a couple of times during the bain-marie melting.
4. Once fully melted, turn off the hob and carefully REMOVE the heat-proof bowl from the hot saucepan - I usually pour out and save the hot water for washing up and put a bit of cold water into the base-pan instead, to speed up the cooling. Leave the bowl of melted chocolate/butter to cool to room temperature, for at least 10 FULL minutes (if the bowl is placed on top of cold water, if not it will take longer), so you don't scramble the eggs!
5. Meanwhile, using handheld beaters / an electric mixer, in a mixing bowl, whisk the 4 medium eggs and the 275g of brown sugar, until the mixture is pale and has doubled in volume (this will take 4 minutes with an electric mixer / electric whisk, or up to 10 minutes if you are whisking by hand). This step - called 'ribboning' - is worth doing as it ensures a lovely crackly top to your brownie bake.
6. Preheat the oven to 180 C (160 C fan) or to Gas 4, and line (but DO NOT GREASE) a 9" x 9" (23cm square) baking tin with greaseproof paper, or even better use a reusable silicone liner (I use one shaped like this Toastabag reusable liner designed for a 1lb or 2 lb loaf tin, but which works well in many different tins, including the one we are using now). Don't grease the tin / liner or else the base of the brownie will be greasy. MAKE SURE that the liner or greaseproof sticks up above the sides of the tin, as you'll need to use the overhang to release the brownie, once baked-and-cooled.
7. GRADUALLY pour the WELL COOLED melted chocolate mixture into the fluffy sugary-egg mixture. As you pour the chocolate in, keep stirring VERY GENTLY but continuously with a metal spoon, until fully combined and not streaky, this will take up to 60 seconds -scrape down the sides and base of the bowl as you mix.
8. From now on it is important to 'fold' the mixture when stirring - meaning you carefully lift and stir, so you don't knock out the air, with a metal spoon, DO NOT use an electric mixer. So, 'fold' in the 85g of SIEVED plain flour and the 40g of SIEVED cocoa powder, and the 100g of chopped milk-cooking-chocolate chunks. Fold gently but well, with a spoon, for about 1 minute, until fully combined.
9. Check the prepared tin - does the liner or greaseproof stick up above the sides of the tin? As you'll need to use this overhang to release the brownie, once baked-and-cooled. Pour the brownie mix (it's very runny, which is fine) into the lined 9 inch x 9 inch tin. If all of the chocolate chunks seem to be in one area, spread them out with a spoon.
10. Bake the brownie for 35 minutes exactly - the top will show signs of cracking, the inside will still be soft (please be aware that the 'skewer test' doesn't work with this recipe, as the melted chocolate chunks will always show up on them, leading to overbaking if you rely on the skewer test).
11. Score the surface of the brownies As SOON AS they are out of the oven, to mark the 16 pieces (don't cut all the way through them yet, wait until they are cooled and solid to do that). Also poke a hole in each brownie, ready to add the 'maggots' later.
12. Sit the tin on a wire rack (to speed up cooling) and leave the scored-but-still-whole brownie slab in the tin to cool for 3 hours (yes, THREE hours) in a cool room. If you try and cut them sooner, you'll end up with a squidgy mess. You can leave them to cool for the final hour in the fridge, if you want a very set brownie to transport easily, to a party for example.
13. After the 3 hours of cooling, lift the scored-but-still-whole brownie slab onto a chopping board, using the sticking-up greaseproof or liner to lift it - it's best to get someone else to help you do this (two pairs of hands make it much easier, as you can grab all four corners of the liner).
14. Cut the FULLY COOL slab into 16 pieces - being careful not to accidentally cut the reusable liner (if using).
15. If you haven't already poked the holes for the jelly worms, you can do so now. Add the 16 jelly worms, one per hole.
16. These brownies are best eaten on the day of baking. If you do keep them for up to 3 days, keep them cool and in an airtight container - I always stand them on a small wire rack (23cm x 17cm) inside the airtight container, to stop them going mushy underneath. Or you can keep them in the fridge, for up to three days, where they will become solid and dense - almost like fudge. These brownies freeze well (without the jelly worms!) on the day of baking, lasting up to 3 months, in an airtight box.
Adapted slightly from the BBC GoodFood recipe by Orlando Murrin for 'Best Ever Chocolate Brownies' and from the brownie recipe by Pip Sanderson on the shipton-mill.com website.
The tray of brownies pictured below is made using sourdough starter starter discard, which I know is a bit niche. If you do have sourdough starter to hand, here is the link to my recipe for delicious 'Sourdough Discard Brownies'.
