FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Freshly baked

As Nigella says in the preamble to her recipe to Chocolate Brownies in her book 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess', "I don't know why more people don't make their own brownies". These squidgy, fudgey chocolate squares are dead easy to make and require little more than some melting, whisking and stirring - all in one bowl, if you like - before pouring the mixture into a tray and cooking it.

I'm not a great cake nor pudding maker, so I often make brownies for pudding after supper. They have a pudding-ey texture, when made correctly, and can be served warm with ice-cream, or creme fraiche. I don't know anyone who has refused one of my brownies, and I am often asked to make them to tea parties after concerts or for coffee mornings.

This recipe replaces flour with ground almonds, which makes the brownies even more moist and yummy, as well as making them entirely appropriate for those with gluten-intolerance issues.

225g best-quality dark chocolate
225g Butter, softened
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
200g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs (beaten)
150g ground almonds
100g chopped walnuts- optional

Oven 180C


Melt the chocolate and butter over a gentle heat, or in the microwave. Beat the eggs and add the vanilla essence. Add the melted chocolate and butter to the eggs and then stir in the ground almonds. Pour into a prepared baking tray (e.g. 24cm square tin) and bake for about 20 mins, or until the top is slightly cracked and firm to the touch. The brownies will turn fudgey as they cool. Cut into squares, dust with icing sugar. Serve. Eat.