Epic Chocolate Brownies

Step 1

Line and grease a 24cm square cake tin. Buttering the whole inside of the tin lightly and lining the base of the tin with greaseproof paper.

Step 2

Melt the butter and the chocolate together in a non-stick saucepan over a low heat. Keep the heat nice and low and stir occasionally until you have a lovely glossy pan of molten chocolate in front of you. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

Step 3

Take a large bowl and add the eggs, sugar and vanilla bean paste. Beat until they are well combined.

Step 4

Once the chocolate mix has cooled a little (it should still be warm, but you should be able to put your little finger in the chocolate mix without it burning you), pour the chocolate and butter into the egg and sugar bowl, stirring the mix quite vigorously as you pour. It is important that the chocolate mix is not hot (just warm) when you pour it, otherwise you risk cooking the eggs. Both mixes should be totally combined now.

Step 5

Sift the gluten free plain flour on top of the chocolate mix and fold it in as you go. Stir well until all the flour is fully combined and there are no little flour lumps remaining.

Step 6

Now pour the brownie mix into the cake tin - it should level itself out but give it a like shake to get it to the corners if needed.

Step 7

Bake at 180C for 20-25 minutes for lovely squidgy brownies - they will have a slight wobble to them still but you will see the top has begun to crack around the edges. If the mix is still quite sloppy, pop them back in for another 5-10 minutes. I like these brownies to be dense and fudgy and tend to leave them to set fully overnight. If you prefer cakey brownies, you should cook for 35-40 minutes (but the fudgy ones are so much better).