It would be a massive understatement when I say that I take brownies quite seriously. Whether it’s from working as a development chef at a chocolate company or because my family are absolute brownie fiends, this has resulted in an infinite quest for the perfect, gooey brownie.

RECIPE:

BROWN BUTTER BROWNIE

• 185g UNSALTED BUTTER

• 225g DARK CHOCOLATE (70-75% Cocoa Solid)

• 5 WHOLE MEDIUM EGGS

• 450g CASTER SUGAR

• 190g PLAIN FLOUR

• 1 Tsp GROUND CARDAMOM

• 1 Tsp SALT

• 60g COCOA POWDER

• 50g CHOPPED HAZELNUTS

CHANTILLY DECORATION

• 300ml DOUBLE CREAM

• 2 Tbsp ICING SUGAR (Sieved)

• CHOPPED HAZELNUTS

• COCOA POWDER (For dusting, always for a bit f dusting)

BEFORE YOU START…

• Preheat your oven to 170c (fan oven, 180c for other, less powerful ovens)

• Grease and line a 20cm square fairly deep ‘brownie’ tin (as always if you don’t have the exact tin, just increase the cooking time if smaller or reduce if your tin is larger)

METHODS:

FOR THE BROWN BUTTER BROWNIE…

Cook the butter until golden and nutty. While the butter is cooking chop chocolate finely. Once the butter is foamy and smells nutty pour over chocolate,  leave for a few moments to melt before mixing until smooth. Set aside to cool while you prepare the other ingredients.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together at a high speed until doubled in volume, light in colour and the mixture holds for a few moments when the whisk is lifted out.

Fold the chocolate into the egg mixture, careful not to knock out too many air bubbles.

Sieve together the dry ingredients into the egg and chocolate mixture.  Fold through along with the chopped hazelnuts before decanting into your brownie tin. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool down before storing in the fridge overnight.

FOR THE CHANTILLY & DECORATION…

Whip the sugar and cream until it’s holds it’s shape when a spatula is lifted out (soft to medium peaks here, but we don’t want over whipped cream because that is so annoying to bring back- YOU DO THIS BY ADDING MORE CREAM. It loosens it so it’s okkaaaay to use but it’s never going to be as smooth as if you were to whip it ‘properly’ -eugh- in the first place… yeah, I said it was annoying)

(Yes, you could certainly toast your hazelnuts here but they can go quite bitter so I’m happy to use them straight up from the packet or buy some already lightly toasted instead. The browned butter will give a rich nutty flavour already so here I am allowing you to be a little lazy if you’d like to join me! It feels good when we’ve already worked so hard…)

 TO SERVE:  Let the brownie come to room temperature if you prefer your brownie on the gooey side or straight from the fridge for a firmer- fudgy affair. (Store in the fridge for 2-3 days because of the chantilly).