Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients

• 225g good quality 70 percent dark chocolate, in pieces
• 85g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 180g sugar
• good pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 60g plain flour
• 50-100g toasted, broken walnuts 50g chopped dark chocolate (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Butter an 8 x 8 inch pan and line with baking paper so the paper pops up over the side of the pan. Butter the paper.

Put the chocolate and butter in the top of a heatproof bowl over a gently simmering pan of water. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Take the pan off the heat and, with a wooden spoon,  mix in the sugar and salt thoroughly, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and flour and beat until the batter is very shiny and comes away from the side of the bowl. This may take a few
minutes.

Fold in the walnuts and optional chopped chocolate. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approx 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out moist but clean. Don’t overcook. Brownies are best when moist and fudgy.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack before cutting into squares. Makes 12 big brownies or 16 more reasonably sized ones.