Julia Taylor’s Raspberry Brownies

Everyone needs a great brownie recipe in their arsenal, and this has been mine for years. It is unforgivingly naughty; gooey, rich, and moreish –I say we just need to accept the fact that yes, brownies fall into the category of ‘sinful treat’ and to enjoy every single bite.

These freeze well, and can be made as individuals (just grease or line a muffin tray with squares of baking paper and fill with brownie mix) or as a tray. I like to bake mine in a Swiss roll tray and cut to thin bars at the end.

Make sure you cook the brownies until just set, and still slightly soft in the middle. They will continue to cook as they cool down, and any brownie in my house must have a slightly fudgy, chewy texture.

Up-scale these as perfect squares for a dinner party, served warm with a scoop of ice-cream.

Raspberry Brownies

120g unsalted butter

120g 70% chocolate

240g caster sugar

3 large, free-range eggs

140g plain flour

½ tsp. baking powder

30g cocoa powder

120g frozen raspberries

Extra cocoa powder, for dusting

Grease and line a 32 x 24cm Swiss roll tin, or baking tray of your choice.

Pre-heat oven to 160C.

In a small saucepan, gently melt the butter. Add chocolate, and stir gently until melted. Remove from heat. Pour the butter and chocolate into a mixing bowl, stir in sugar, then eggs.

Sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together in to a separate bowl, then stir into the melted chocolate mix. Fold through frozen raspberries and spoon into prepared baking tray. Smooth the surface with a palette knife or the back of a spoon, and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the surface springs back to the touch slightly.

NB: the baking paper is important here as brownies are dense, and tricky to

remove without the support of paper. Remember the baking time will change depending on the tray – deeper, smaller trays will take longer, and individual brownies in a muffin or cupcake tin will take 10-12 minutes.

You can replace the raspberries with frozen blueberries, chunks of other fruit or chunks of chocolate.