Dark Chocolate Brownies

They are delicious and fun to make - your kitchen will turn into a chocolate factory for at least an hour so it's worth making two batches and sharing the surplus with friends. If you've been thinking about bringing something homemade to the office but haven't had the chance to run a SurveyMonkey and figure out what your boss and colleagues like, look no further than this recipe which has been successfully tested (across all sectors and industries!). In fact, many brownies recipes trace their origin to that special place in every office
where people leave birthday and holiday treats. 




Ingredients
(for one batch)

380g dark chocolate (a mix of Green&Black's "Maya Gold" (55% cocoa) and "Espresso" (70% cocoa) is my personal favourite)

400g light brown soft sugar

50-100g caster sugar (if you're using dark chocolate with less than 55% cocoa, use no more than 50g of caster sugar if you like the brownies a bit bitter)

6 eggs

380g unsalted butter

230g plain flour

50g cocoa powder (if you're using dark chocolate with over 70% cocoa, you may not want to
 add cocoa power but have it ready in case you find the mixture too sweet)

100g white chocolate (this is optional for fans of white chocolate - it's not part of the mixture, see below)

Method

Step 1:
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water.Then add the butter to the chocolate. Pre-heat the oven at 160 degrees.

Step 2:
Beat the eggs and a sugar in a separate bowl until you get a smooth mixture

Step 3
Add the melted chocolate to the egg/sugar. Add the flour and continue to beat until you get a mix that looks like the second picture below. 

Add the chocolate to the eggs and sugar mix

The final mixture should look like this...

At this point taste the mixture and if it's too sweet add the cocoa powder. And if you are a fan of white chocolate, chop up 50-100g and add the bits to the mix. 

Step 4:
Pour the mixture evenly into a buttered tin and put it in the oven for no more than 50min. 
Check the brownies by sticking a knife when you think they are ready - the knife should come out mostly clean but with some crumbs. 

Step 5:
Close encounters with the brownies : )