Jamie's Chocolate Brownies

Now I can't take any credit for this one - when it comes to baking the perfect brownies, soft and chewy and densely chocolately, Jamie Oliver's "Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies" recipe from his Little Book of Big Treats is the only way to go. I mean Jamie really knows his brownies. These little beauties come out of the oven all soft and gooey in the middle and then turn gorgeously chewy when cooled. Seriously, the world needs to know about these brownies.

The recipe I have included below is exactly the same as Jamie's except for one thing - I've reduced the quantity of butter just a little. I mean we all know I'm a little fat girl at heart but come on Jamie, a recipe that contains a WHOLE block of butter? That's just obscene. Putting that extra 50g back in the fridge makes me feel almost rightious and the recipe doesn't suffer at all for it.

RECIPE (serves 20... apparently... or just 4 girls in my experience?)

200g unsalted butter
200g dark Fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
80g cocoa powder, sifted
65g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
360g caster sugar
4 large free-range or organic eggs

optional extras:
75g dried sour cherries
50g chopped nuts
optional: zest of 1 orange
optional: 250ml crème fraîche

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 cherries and 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.