A brownie is a small chocolate square cake containing nuts. They have different varieties containing everything from dried cherries to coffee beans. Their history dates to 1896 from a recipe in the Boston Cooking school where they were created by reducing the amount of floor in a chocolate cookie. There are two types of brownies: -

• Cake-like

• Fudge-like

The difference between the two types of brownies is the ratio between the fat and the chocolate to the floor. For fudge-like brownies, a lot of floor is used compared to cake-like. The beauty to make the perfect ones lies in the richness of the taste as they should be delicious. A good recipe will not only tell you the time to bake but, how long to let them cool before cutting them. What is the recipe required to make the perfect chocolate brownies?

• 250g of cocoa chocolate

• 250g of unsalted butter

• 300g of golden caster sugar

• 3 large eggs and 1 extra egg yolk, lightly beaten

• 60g of plain flour

• ½ tsp of baking powder

• A pinch of salt

• 60g of good quality cocoa powder

First, pre-heat the oven to 180 Celsius and line a baking tin with baking paper. Next, set a bowl over, a pan of simmering water, and add 200 grams of the chocolate, broken into pieces. Allow it to melt, stirring occasionally, and then remove it immediately. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and feathery and break the rest of the chocolate into chips. Gradually add the eggs, beating well between each addition to ensure its thoroughly combined before pouring in any more. Leave mixing on a mixer for five minutes until the batter has a silky shine and has increased in size. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and gently fold in the melted chocolate and the chips with a metal spoon, followed by the sifted flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Put the mixture into the tin then bake for not more than thirty minutes. It should not come out sticky, but not coated with raw mixture. If it does, put it back into the oven for another 3 minutes, then test again. Prepare a roasting tin of iced water.

When they are ready, remove the tin from the oven and place them in the cold-water bath. Leave to cool for maybe an hour or two before cutting into squares with a plastic knife. Store in an air-tight container and let them sit overnight for the next day.

It is advisable to store brownies in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper and place a slice of bread on top before closing to keep them fresh for a couple of days. For a longer period, e.g., a few months, it is better to wrap them as suggested and store them in a deep freezer. Brownies are kept best individually wrapped for a soft, cake-like, taste that melts in your mouth.

The perfect brownie should neither be too thick nor too thin but just right.