Merry Christmas! We all know this time between Christmas and New Year is a weird one, and I’m certainly feeling it this year. I arrived back in Berlin the other day, having spent a lovely 9 days with family back home in the UK. It’s nice to be “home” but there’s not much going on here, so what better time to take my new square baking tin for a spin? Using my mum’s school recipe I christened the baking tray in the best way possible: brownies.

I know everyone thinks they’ve found the best brownie recipe ever, but this one really is the greatest. If you like your brownies crispy on the top, gooey in the middle and full to the brim with chocolate and calories, then Christmas has come early/late for you because my mum has hit the nail on the head with this one. We add an extra 55g of chocolate than the original recipe advises and boy is it worth it.

Maybe the ‘new year, new me’ resolution should revolve around baking the best brownie imaginable this year?

Serves as many as you’re willing to share it with.

Ingredients

• 115g butter
• 115g dark chocolate
• 225g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 115g plain flour
• pinch of salt

Method

• Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl (top tip: it is much quicker to this in the microwave rather than a bain marie, but don’t wait for all the chocolate to melt – take it out of the microwave and then stir until it has melted completely).
• In a separate bowl, beat the sugar, salt and eggs until creamy and lighter in colour.
• Pour the chocolatey, buttery mixture into the sugar and eggs and fold gently until just combined.
• Add the flour and continue to fold carefully.
• Pour the heavenly batter into a square or rectangular baking tin. I used a 24cm square tin but one slightly smaller would make for slightly thicker brownies.
• Bake at 160°C (320°F, gas mark 3) for 40-50 minutes.