The house is quiet but because my 2 nieces are coming for a sleepover with my daughter, I’m taking the opportunity to get some food prepared while there is a bit of peace. A simple sausage casserole is prepared very quickly which all of us will have and I also have some spicy cauliflower curry over from yesterday so that will do for us grown ups.

Because it is a ‘special casion’ the kids will have ice cream and I have made some brownies to enjoy later.The recipe comes from Gerard Coleman of Artisan du chocolat in London who is an extraordinarily talented chocolate maker. Have a look at his site as there are many other yummy looking recipes. including one for Biscotti I think I will make next. His brownie recipe was given to me on my course in Dublin Cookery School and as I have mentioned this is a fantastic place where I have enjoyed developing my cookery skills and finding new recipes as well as meeting an amazing bunch of people. For brownies or most chocolate cooking I use Callebaut chocolate drops. Just make sure you use good quality chocolate otherwise you are really wasting a great recipe.

For 1/2 kg of brownies to be shared among lots of people….
100g dark chocolate
75g butter at room temperature
55g castor sugar
25g Honey (Optional, I left out today as I had none)
75gr whole eggs (about 2 but 3 if they are small)
75gr of chopped chocolate or chocolate drops
75gr of chopped pecans or nuts of choice- make sure to chop finely so they dont drop to the bottom of the tin… Actually today I used macadamia’s
25g self raising flour, sifted – use gluten free if preferred, you will get a slightly flatter result but lovely still.

Oven 160’C. Cook for about 15-20 mins.

9″ springform pan or equivalent tin lined with parchment paper

Melt the bigger quantity of chocolate gently over pot of hot water. Stir in the butter until the butter melts. Take off the heat.
Beat the eggs and sugar until white and light.
Fold this into the melted chocolate mix. Add the sifted flour and chopped chocolate and nuts.
Pour into baking tin.
Bake for about 20 mins until the middle does not wobble but should still be a little gooey. Loosen around the edge of the tin while still warm and leave to cool before cutting.

PS – Check out the christmas gifts on Gerard’s site…. I like the idea of cocoa rehab… 6 months for me please!…