Chocolate Cherry Brownies Recipe

Ingredients

• 230 g unsalted butter
• 200 g dark chocolate 70% (chopped)
• 200 g caster sugar (superfine)
• 3 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 125 g plain flour (all-purpose)
• 45 g cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 425 g pitted black cherries (strained, separate the juice and cherries)
• 110 g fresh cherries (pitted, and halved or whole)
• 40 g dark chocolate chips (optional)
• 30-45 ml cherry juice (from tin of black cherries)
• 180 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar) (sifted)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Chocolate cherry brownies ---

2. 2

   Preheat oven and prepare pan. Turn the oven on to 180°C (350°F) and line a 23cm (9-inch) square baking pan with parchment paper (this will make it easier for you to remove the brownies once cooled)

3. 3

   Melt the chocolate and butter. Set a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water making sure not to let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Place the butter and chocolate into the bowl and stir until melted. Remove bowl from the saucepan and set to one side for the chocolate to cool slightly. Alternatively, place in a heatproof bowl and microwave for 10-second intervals stirring between bursts until melted.

4. 4

   Whisk the eggs and sugar. In a medium bowl, using a handheld mixer, whisk the egg, sugar and vanilla extract on high speed until pale and fluffy, for about 3 minutes. This step can be done by hand- it might take a while though to achieve that pale yellow fluffy consistency that you are after!Add chocolate. Whilst continuing to whisk on low, slowly pour in the melted chocolate then mix until just combined

5. 5

   Sift in dry ingredients and add cherries. Then sift into the mixing bowl the dry ingredients, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into the mixing bowl. Fold through until a few flour streaks remain.

6. 6

   Add cherries. Strain the tinned cherries, reserving the juice. Add the cherries to the batter. and fold through gently with a rubber spatula. Don’t over mix otherwise you might deflate the eggs.

7. 7

   Pour into pan, add fresh cherries and bake. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth flat with an offset spatula. Distribute fresh cherries over the top. Bake for 22-27 minutes until set around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cook for 5 more minutes if a more set centre is preferred.Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for ten minutes. Use the parchment paper sling to gently lift the brownie out of the pan and onto a wire rack to cool before cutting.

8. 8

   --- Cherry glaze ---

9. 9

   Make the glaze. Stir the powdered icing sugar and 2 tbsp of the cherry juice leftover from the tinned cherries and mix until combined. If the glaze is too thick, add a teaspoon of juice at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the chocolate brownies and serve! Enjoy!