Last week there was another happy occasion on which my busy life required me to bake.  Not just cause I wanted to and felt like some sugar (I think I’m always up for some sugar. ;) ) but because the Fine Chocolate Society was having a film night and bake sale.

I mentioned before that I thought the Green & Blacks brownies were among the most godly things on earth.  I stand by that statement.  For sweetness, texture, and cocoa flavour I am convinced that these brownies can’t be beat. They are exquisitely moist and are sweet without being too sweet.  And did I mention how I love brownies with a dark chocolate flavour?

And I think the secret lies in the chocolate you use.  In the past for my brownies, I have been using Cadbury’s Bourneville chocolate.  It markets itself as “dark chocolate”, yet I was surprised when I read the label and discovered that it only contains  39% cocoa. WTF, right?

So for this recipe, I bought 70% Dark chocolate from Green & Blacks.  Oh. My. God.  The melted chocolate was like molten gold and it gave off such a rich, beautiful aroma.  The brownie recipe doesn’t use cocoa powder to give it any extra chocolate kick, so definitely don’t skimp out on the chocolate if you’re making these.

Hmmm, what could those be?

I couldn’t really get a decent picture of the brownies on their own.  The bars you see beside them are a creation of mine.  In fact, I was experimenting with them again yesterday.  Look out for a post about those yummy treats; I think I’m almost finished the tweaking, but I’d like to try another variation or two.

So, without a doubt, I present to you my favourite brownie recipe ever:

Green & Black Brownies

From Green and Black’s Chocolate Recipes: Unwrapped – From the Cacao Pod to Muffins, Mousses and Moles

Ingredients:
300 g unsalted butter
300 g dark chocolate (minimum 60%, broken into pieces)
5 large eggs
400 g granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
(optional, I omitted these) 100 g of drained morello cherries

Directions:
1. Grease a roasting or baking tray. In a bowl (placed on top of a pot of boiling water) melt the butter and chocolate together until thick and creamy
Meanwhile beat together sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until thick and creamy. The mixture should easily coat the back of a spoon.
2. Once the butter-chocolate mixture has melted, remove from stove and beat into the egg mixture Sift the flour and salt together, and add to the wet ingredients. Mix until mixture is well combined.
3. If using, drain morello cherries and fold into the brownie mixture.
4.Pour mixture into the tray and bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 180C. Once finished baking, allow to cool and cut into pieces.
My finished brownies made 32 good, but not huge, sized pieces. Enjoy!

Aha! Those mysterious caramel bars made another appearance.