Woohoo it's finally Friday and what better way to celebrate than these gorgeous gooey chocolatey brownies! I think I might re name Friday as Brownieday and just go ahead and make brownies a weekly thing! Who's with me?!
Since receiving a box of Ferrero Rocher for Christmas and scoffing the whole box *oops!* I've been really loving chocolate and hazelnuts. To be honest any nuts and chocolate is a guaranteed win in my eyes :)
I've changed this recipe slightly from my original chocolate brownies just to make them richer and even more indulgent. But the method is very much the same. The most important part is the whisking of the eggs and caster sugar. The more air you can whisk in at this stage the fudgier your brownies will be!
As I've said before I'm trying out some new ideas with my photography and learning so much along the way. The January dullness isn't helping the lighting but I'm pretty pleased with how this shoot went. I did get some strange looks from my neighbours when they walked by as I stood on a stool in my kitchen looking over my brownies with a huge ring light in my window but you've gotta do what you've gotta do!
Anyway on to the recipe - as I said I changed things up slightly increasing the white chocolate and adding a little salt to counteract the sweetness. I've got a very sweet tooth but sometimes even for me too much white chocolate can be too sweet! When it comes to baking I always use my favourite brand of chocolate - Callebaut. It is a little more expensive than supermarket chocolate but the taste is just amazing, especially the white chocolate. It really does make a difference. You can source it from cake decorating websites or Amazon.
For the brownies you will need:
185g Butter or Margarine
100g Dark Chocolate
85g White Chocolate
3 Large Eggs
275g Caster Sugar
80g Plain Flour
45g Cocoa Powder
200g White Chocolate (wallets or roughly chopped bar)
70g Walnuts
70g Hazelnuts
40g White Chocolate (optional for the topping)
Step1. Grease and line a 35x25cm baking tin and set aside. Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Step 2. Add your dark chocolate, 85g white chocolate and butter to a microwaveable bowl and heat gently until melted. (Alternatively melt using glass bowl over a saucepan of shallow simmering water). Set aside the melted chocolate and butter mixture to room temperature.
Step 3. In a large bowl add caster sugar and 3 medium eggs. Whisk on a maximum speed for 4-6 minutes. It needs to be really pale, thick and creamy. An important step!!
Step 4. Add the chocolate/butter mixture to the egg and sugar mix and whisk briefly until mixed together.
Step 5. Sift in the plain flour and cocoa powder and carefully fold the mixture with a spatula. Be careful not to mix out all the air! The mixture should be really gooey and fudgy!
Step 6. Add your walnuts, hazelnuts and chopped white chocolate to your brownie mix and stir through.
Step 7. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin making sure it reaches all the corners and is level in the tin. Bake the brownies in the middle shelf of the oven for around 20-25 minutes. They will still be gooey (which is what you want!) so make sure you don’t over bake them.
Step 8. Leave to cool until room temperature in the tin and then transfer to the fridge for around an hour - this makes t ur brownies out of the fridge and cut into 12 squares.
Step 9. For the topping melt the 40g white chocolate and drizzle over your brownies. Allow to harden slightly on the cool brownies and then enjoy!
Remember to let me know if you give this recipe a go! I'd love to see your photos on Instagram - use the # #toptierbakery and I'll check them out!
