Bloomin' brilliant chocolate brownies

I've had a lot of brownies in my time. My favourite type of brownie is chocolatey, dense and fudge-like in texture. I'm not after something light. For me, brownies are serious devil food :D!

I had some friends over last Sunday which was the prefect excuse to whip up these babies. But really, who needs an excuse?! This recipe come from Jamie Oliver.

While posting this I'm wishing we still had some brownies left in the fridge!

Bloomin' brilliant chocolate brownies (Recipe by Jamie Oliver)

Serves 20

50 g unsalted butter
200 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
150 g chopped nuts (I use macadamia nuts. Please note that the recipe only calls for 50 g but I love nuts!)
80 g cocoa powder, sifted
65 g plain flour, sifted (I use White Wing plain gluten free flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
360 g caster sugar
4 large free-range or organic eggs

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth.

Add the nuts, if you’re using them, and stir together. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, cherry and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.
Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes.

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.

Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares. These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with some orange zest.