Sweet Tooths Raspberry & Almond Brownie

Like many of you perhaps, I’ve been following that cheeky chappy Jamie Oliver since the very beginning of his career. I love his passion and enthusiasm for all things food and lets face it, his recipes are always so easy and so damned delicious! I still refer back to his first Naked Chef cookbook regularly, a cookbook that he had published 15 years ago when he was just 22.  He has since travelled the world cooking up wonderous local feasts and has near 20 cookbooks under his belt, 5 of which are sitting on my bookshelf right now (special mention to my fave, Jamie’s Italy). His campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools and to get children eating nutritious food instead, brought the subject of school dinners to the political forefront and changed the types of food served in schools in UK. I have cooked many of Mr Olivers recipes over the years, but here’s my take on his sensational gooey chewy brownie recipe.. I’ve added raspberries and almonds. Enjoy these delights guilt free.. go on, you’ve been good all week (and I won’t tell anyone if you haven’t!)

Stuff you need: 2 mixing bowls, a saucepan, wooden spoon, 25cm square tray, baking paper 

Prep time: 20 min Cooking time: 25 - 30 min

From my vegie patch:
As many raspberries as you can pick! I used about 20, a punnet will do.

Other ingredients:
250g x unsalted butter

200g x quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up

80g x cocoa powder, sifted

65g x plain flour, sifted

1 x teaspoon baking powder

350g x caster sugar

 4 x large free-range or organic eggs

75gm x slithered almonds

Lets do it..

1.       Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/ and line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper.

2.       In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth, add the nuts

3.       In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate and nut mixture. Stir together well.

4.       Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

5.       Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and lightly press in your raspberries.

6.       place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle.

7.       Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of greek yogurt, or a scoop of vanilla icecream amd a few more raspberries on the side.

Serve with a glass of bubbles or a cuppa if its before midday :)

Soundtrack for these little gems: La Revancha Del Tango by Gotan Project