Jamie Oliver’s Brilliant Brownies

If you want something to do with kids on a wet afternoon this is it and you get to eat really good brownies at the end of it. This recipe of Jamie’s came from his book Little Book of big Treats which he did for comic relief, it is easy and fun. I made it with my grandchildren, they all ended up with their fingers in the dark chocolate mix and as the smell of them baking was oozing around the house they were stood in the kitchen waiting for them to come out of the oven.

You can play a little with this recipe and add a few things that take your fancy, to make a more adult version you could add a tablespoon of rum and a hand full of raisins which turns them into something totally different, I choose to add some chopped pecans and a handfull of chopped white chocolate, and they are really yummy.

Baking tins are quite important when cooking brownies or you can end up with nothing short of chocolate biscuits, I did not have a small square tin so I used a 7 inch round cake tin and it worked, if you use too big a tin the mix will then too thin. I also made only half the amount so if using the full amount get the correct size tin, they freeze really well.

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. These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with some orange zest.

Ingredients

  • 250g unsalted butter
  • 200g dark Fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
  • optional: 50g 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 fraîche

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4
  2. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper
  3. In a large bowl over some simmering water
  4. Melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth.
  5. Add nuts, if you’re using them, and stir together
  6. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar
  7. Add this to the chocolate, and nut mixture, stir together well
  8. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency
  9. Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray
  10. Place in the oven for around 25 minutes
  11. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares..

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