Catherine’s Ultimate Very Chocolaty Brownies
- 300g unsalted butter
- 300g good quality dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa solids
- 5 large free range eggs
- 450g unrefined caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
- 150g plain flour
- 50g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a 34 x 25cm x 6cm deep baking tray or roasting tin with baking parchment and lightly grease with oil.
Chop the chocolate into small even size pieces. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl over simmering water creating a double boiler or if you have a Thermomix melt the butter and chocolate for 5 minutes at 50°C on speed 3.
Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla seeds until the mixture become thick, creamy and pale in colour.
Slowly add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture , while whisking.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt over the chocolaty mixture, use long folding motions to fold the flour in to the chocolate mixture.
Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin ensuring the mixture is evenly distributed. Place the baking tray on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. This giant brownie should not wobble, but should remain gooey on the inside. I prefer to set the timer first for 20 minutes, test by giving the tray a small pat if the brownie wobbles it needs a further 5 minutes. If it’s solid, it means that the brownie is cooked. Remember that it will continue cooking as it cools down.
Leave to cool for about 30 minutes before cutting into desired shapes, dust with extra cocoa powder for that final cocoa kick.
Makes approximately 30 chocolate brownies, but then it depends on how big you cut them, it's easier to say you will get approximately 1.4kg of cooked brownies.
Catherine’s Tips and the Food Fanatic agrees!
Make sure you use the correct size tray and DO NOT OVERCOOK THEM. As a rule, when you start to smell them they are usually close to being done: you are better off removing them too soon and putting them back, which does no harm at all! For a bit of variation add nuts or dried fruits. Fold these into the mix last.