Poor Tony has been really unwell for around 10 days now. It’s been a really rough week in this house.
This afternoon, we were entertaining ourselves downstairs (he’s finally well enough to make it out of bed). I was beavering away on my laptop planning the wedding cakes I’m making for my friends this year. He was doing something or other on the ipad. Nothing remarkable at all. And then he really surprised me. “Char… please can you make me some brownies?” he said.
This is the man who never eats sweet things. I don’t think he’s ever asked me to bake for him before in all the time we’ve been together (10 years this year). The last sweet thing I think he ate was a slice of his birthday cake that I made him in November, more out of the fact that I thought it would be something nice to do for his birthday, rather than the thought that he’d enjoy eating the cake.
So, I duly popped over to Tetbury to pick up some supplies. These brownies are very straightforward to make. They are pretty much identical to the recipe for chocolate brownies in Nigella Express, a recipe which can be found readily online. Not only are they flourless, making them great for Tony who is gluten intolerant, but they are made using the simplest of ingredients. For the best results, I use Montezuma’s chocolate (the best I can get my hands on), English unsalted butter, Burford Brown free range eggs, the best vanilla extract and ground almonds.
Chocolate brownies
Makes approximately 12
Ingredients
225g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)
225g unsalted butter
200g Billington’s golden caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (I used Nielsson Massey)
3 eggs, beaten (the Burford Browns are a medium sized egg)
Pinch salt
150g ground almonds
Method
1) Preheat the oven to 170C
2) Grease and line a 20cm square tin with non-stick baking parchment
3) Melt the chocolate and butter together. Mix well to combine
4) Stir in the sugar and vanilla extract and mix well
5) Add the beaten eggs and whisk in
6) Finally, add the salt and ground almonds
7) Bake for 25-30 minutes until just firm
8) Allow to cool fully in the tin before slicing and enjoying
Sorry to hear Tony has not been well and the new year hasn’t been a great start for you. Illness does strange things to people, he must need an energy boost and I’m sure those brownies would do it. I haven’t tried this version yet, but I will. Hope all is well with you both now.
CT and I have both been unwell with some cold virus thing that is now into it’s 4th week and has dragged us down. I even, haven’t felt much like baking (although I’ve done a bit)!!!!
Thanks Chocolette. So sorry to hear you’ve both been poorly too – get well soon!
I think these brownies would be good medicine for anyone, they sound lovely! Hope Tony is much better now!
Thank you Jayne. They were really good chilled in the fridge actually. Tony is much better now, thank you!