I’m completely in love with words about food. My cookbooks, my folders of printed out recipes found online and notebooks of handwritten recipes are prized possessions. There’s a distinct possibility I could feature on the recipe edition of Hoarders. 

Every so often, to ensure I don’t have to be dug out from beneath a pile of recipes (a good way to go if you ask me), a recipe sort-out is required. Recipes are sorted using a shifting classification system that makes vague sense to me at the time: recipes to adapt to be gluten-free, recipes with parts that would be useful for other recipes, recipes that would be perfect to make at certain times of the year when peaches/asparagus/tomatoes are at their seasonal best… Shit gets complicated real fast. One recipe classification is quite straight forward though and that is ‘recipes to try’. Cocoa brownies was one of these recipes.

Raved about online, cocoa brownies are apparently the best thing since brownies with actual chocolate added to them. I was skeptical but willing to give the recipe crack (I also just really wanted dessert to eat with our episode of Ozark.) And you know what – the internet was right – these brownies are bloody excellent. Hard to believe there’s no chocolate in them. Nice one, internet. 

Cocoa brownies

A Bon Appetit recipe found here.

140g butter, cut into 1-2cm sized cubes

1 & 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup & 2 tablespoons good-quality cocoa 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon good-quality vanilla

2 large free-range eggs, fridge-cold 

1/2 cup gluten-free or regular flour 

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper. 

This next step will seem like unnecessary faff but it helps to ensure that the sugar dissolves as the butter melts. Set up double boiler: find a heatproof mixing bowl that will fit neatly over a saucepan. Fill the saucepan with just enough boiling water (from a kettle) to create a simmering steam bath under the bowl but ensure that the water level remains well below the bowl. Place the saucepan over a low-medium heat and adjust as necessary to maintain a low simmer. 

Place the butter, cocoa, sugar and salt into the bowl and place over the saucepan of gently simmering water. As the butter melts gently stir with a spatula until a smooth thick batter has formed. Remove the bowl from the top of the saucepan and set aside briefly to cool down.

Once the mixture has cooled slightly, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously between each addition. When the mixture looks smooth and shiny, add the flour and beat vigorously for about 30 seconds or until your arm has had enough. 

Pour the batter into your prepared tin, place into the middle of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Really bloody good eaten warm from the oven (obviously).