Heaven in the form of brownies...

All of my friends and family will tell you just how much I love brownies. I love baking them, eating them, sharing them - everything about them! Nom. Nom. Nom. My brownie recipe is my most frequently used recipe and has become increasingly popular over the last year, with my peers. Well, they don't have a choice really - I have practically thrust brownies in their face to help me determine the best recipe.

Everyone has their own ideal brownie. I believe a brownie should be lightly crisp on the outside, with a soft gooey, but dense inner texture. I like my brownies rich, chocolatey and warm with ice cream or a nice fudgey brownie, with a cup of coffee on a cold day. However you may like your brownie - I'm sure that you can achieve the ultimate with this recipe. I have tried them with nuts, substituted fudge pieces, smarties and chocolate buttons for kids...this recipe is the king of brownie versatility.

Jess' Trade Mark Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter (extra to grease)
• 250g plain chocolate (minimum 50% solids)
• 100g white chocolate (Green and Blacks is fantastic!)
• 4 medium eggs
• 175g muscovado sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 75g plain flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
• 150g finely chopped fudge pieces
• pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 200d/c (180 fan oven), grease a baseline a brownie tin (preferably 8in square shallow).
2. Melt the butter and plain chocolate in a heatproof bowl oven gently simmering water. Once melted together, take off the heat and put to one side.
3. In a separate bowl, melt the white chocolate over a pan of gently simmering water. Once melted, put to one side to cool slightly.
4. In a separate large bowl add the eggs muscovado sugar and vanilla extract and whisk together until the mixture is pale and slightly thickened.
5. Add the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, 100g fudge and a pinch of salt to the bowl, then carefully fold in the dark chocolate mixture. Use a large metal/wooden spoon to combine the mixture, until a smooth batter is formed. Do not over mix or mix too roughly or the batter will seize up.
6. Pour the mixture into the tin and spoon the melted white chocolate over the top. Use a fork to swirl a marble effect over the top and scatter the remaining fudge pieces on too.
7.  Bake in the oven for 20-25minutes but remember to keep an eye on them - over baked brownies are a bit tough! Also, when you take them from the oven the top should look slightly crisp, but don't be afraid if the centre looks a little wobbly. This will set with the egg as it cool and will leave a delightfully moist brownie, with a melted fudge centre.
8. Leave in the tin to cool and transfer to a board for presentation. The mixture should make 16 shop size pieces, however will make a larger number of small bites if baked for an event. Serve with ice cream, a cup of tea or just scoff them whilst they are slightly warm. Half of my batches always disappear within the first 1 hour of them being out of the oven. Keep on brownie watch!

Variations

This recipe is very versatile. You can happily substitute the fudge for halved pecans, walnuts or pistachios or if you're a chocoholic like me smarties, white/milk/dark chocolate buttons also work a treat. In addition, dried fruit may make a nice alternative, chopped glace cherries or raspberries may make a refreshing accompaniment to the dense chocolatey flavour of the brownie mixture. 100grams of your chosen brownie filling should be enough in the mixture but save some for the topping. Also, feel free to remove the white chocolate marbling if its too sweet for you!

On a rather funny note...I have had one disaster with this recipe! Make sure you follow the recipe or things may turn out a little crumbly! The right amount of egg is vital if a brownie is to set rigidly enough to serve out in pieces, remember that! I once tried to make a batch with the wrong size egg - substituting does work but not with eggs! It turned out as a delicious crumbly mess. However, it didn't stop any of my friends from getting a spoon out and eating it from the baking tray! If this does happen, just put in a serving dish and top wish whipped cream and chocolate shavings or top with vanilla buttercream and refrigerate to set. This makes a scrummy cake, which proves even disasters can be delicious! 

TOP TIP: Me and my best friend have a rather humorous but fabulous baking tip : Always carry a spoon, in case there's cake - and this proved very useful with my brownie disaster!

So no matter what your brownie outcome is, I'm sure it'll be tasty as hell and gone in less than a minute.

Enjoy,

Jess xo