Espresso Brownies

Of all the possible combinations to pair with chocolate, coffee seems to make a perfect ensemble to its rich cocoa mate. These brownies are the epitome of this pairing, and resemble many afternoons of sipping espresso with a square of dark chocolate. A good dark chocolate and a tedious amount of patience, whilst waiting for the brownies to cool is required to master these fudgy, yet slightly bitter delights.

Makes 16 brownies

Ingredients:

~ 200g good quality dark chocolate (at least 75% cocoa solids)

~ 150g unsalted butter, plus a little extra for greasing

~ 3 large eggs

~ 250g caster sugar

~ 50ml of strong espresso (I used 2x25ml espresso shots), cooled

~ 60g plain flour

~ 2 tbsp cocoa powder

~ 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Begin by melting the chocolate and butter over a bain-marie. Place a saucepan over a low heat and fill with water to a third of the way up the pan. Allow the water to come to a simmer. Break up the chocolate and dice the butter, adding it to a heatproof bowl that will fit over the saucepan. Place the bowl over the pan, ensuring it is not touching the water. Leave to simmer until the mixture is all melted, stirring it occasionally.

2. Once the chocolate and butter is all melted, remove from the pan and leave to one side to cool down a little. It’s important the chocolate is relatively cool before adding to the eggs, to prevent them scrambling.

3. Preheat the oven to 180oC.

4. Line a 9 inch brownie pan by smearing the surfaces with a little butter and then lining with baking parchment paper. You may find it easier to use a pair of scissors to make diagonal cuts at the 4 corners so that the paper comfortably fits in the tin.

5. In a large bowl, crack the eggs and add the sugar, and whisk until light and fluffy.

6. Test the chocolate mixture is cool enough, by testing it with a clean finger, ever so lightly warm is fine to use. Mix into the egg mixture, then following the espresso, until all incorporated.

7. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt over the mixing bowl, and with either a silicone spatula or a large metal spoon, gently fold them in using a figure of 8 motion. This may take some time, but it will be worth it. The mixture will be ready when you can no longer see any specks of flour left.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and put in the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The brownies will be done when a cake skewer or toothpick comes out with some wet mixture and the top has a crust. Allow the brownies to cool down completely, before cutting into 16 equal pieces.