Triple Chocolate Brownies

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan and line a 23cm square baking tin with parchment paper.

Melt together the butter and dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave for 1–2 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Using an electric whisk or stand mixer, whisk together the eggs and caster sugar for a few minutes until the colour has turned pale, is very mousse-like, and has doubled in volume. You will know when it’s ready because when you lift the whisk out of the mix it should leave a trail for a couple of seconds before disappearing.

Pour the cooled chocolate and butter over the egg and sugar mixture and fold together carefully. It might take some time but be patient – you do not want to knock out the air you whisked in at the previous step. Once completely combined, sift the plain flour and cocoa powder on top of the chocolate mix and then gently fold together again. Fold through the chocolate chips and pour into the lined tin.

Bake for 25–30 minutes. Once baked, leave to cool fully in the tin. You can also ‘set’ the brownies in the fridge for 2 hours to create a lovely fudgy texture once they have cooled from the oven.

Customise: The brownies can be flavoured with vanilla extract, peppermint extract, or the zest of a large orange. You can also fold through pieces of your favourite chocolate bars – soft centred bars should be frozen before baking into brownies, but solid chocolate bars can be baked straight away! You can also add any of the following to your brownies: 200g dried fruit or nuts, 150g frozen or fresh berries, 75g desiccated coconut.