A very grown-up brownie, served with a scoop of Carajillo ice-cream. Photo: Marcel Aucar
The Spanish sweet tooth is one of our inheritances from the Moors. Many centuries after their departure, the Spanish still have a love of cinnamon, citrus and all things sweet. One of my favourite ways to eat chocolate is the brownie. I have been making this recipe for years, but I keep adding new ingredients to it. In this version, the coconut oil gives it a fantastic tropical flavour. With the addition of my spiced Carajillo ice-cream recipe, you have a classy dessert.
Ingredients
180g butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
125g castor sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 orange
4 eggs, lightly beaten 70g raisins
100g hazelnuts, roasted and skinned
Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a 22-centimetre-square baking tin with baking paper.
Melt the butter, coconut oil and three-quarters of the chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
Place the sugar, cocoa powder, flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir to combine.
Zest the orange into the butter and chocolate mixture so any orange oil that sprays off goes into the chocolate; this adds as much flavour as the zest.
Add the butter-and-chocolate mix and eggs and stir until combined. Fold through the remaining chopped chocolate, raisins and hazelnuts.
Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 30 minutes. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.
When cool, cut into slices to serve.
Tip: This brownie recipe is just a base. You can swap the nuts and fruit for other combinations such as macadamias and dried figs.
