Raspberry and White Chocolate Brownies

I don't actually have any photos of these brownies (or the recipe in progress) which is odd because any time an occasion calls for it, I make them. They are gooey, chocolatey and delicious! This is my favourite recipe for brownies as I haven't come across another that produces such chewy decadence; it's no wonder the original is called 'Best ever brownies'! Rest assured, the next time I break out these chunks of cocoa heaven I will add photos to this post. In the meantime here's the details:

Adapted from BBC Good Food (May 2003)
Cooking time: 30 mins
Ingredients:
185g unsalted butter
185g best dark chocolate
85g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
50g white chocolate
50-100g raspberries
3 large eggs
275g caster sugar

Directions

1. Cut the butter into cubes and tip into a medium bowl. Break the dark chocolate into small pieces and drop into the bowl. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put on a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them. Now remove the bowl from the pan and leave the mixture to cool to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven on fan 180C (355 F). Grease a 20cm square tin or line with baking paper (greasing makes for nicer shaped squares of brownie at the end). Now tip 85g plain flour and 40g cocoa powder into a sieve held over a medium bowl, and tap and shake the sieve to get rid of any lumps.

3. Chop or snap the white chocolate into chunks. Keep going until you get to whatever size chunks you want in your brownie (I like big ones).  At this point you can also wash your raspberries to have them ready with the chocolate.

4. Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in the golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes, depending on how powerful your mixer is. You'll know it's ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume. Another check is to turn off the mixer, lift out the beaters and wiggle them from side to side. If the mixture that runs off the beaters leaves a trail on the surface of the mixture in the bowl for a second or two, you're there.

5. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Continue folding until the two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown. The idea is to mix them without knocking out the air you whisked in, so be as gentle and slow as you like - you don't want to undo all the work you did in step 4.

6. Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold in this powder. The mixture will look dry and dusty at first, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end up looking gooey and fudgey.  You don't want to overdo this mixing so be careful! Finally, stir in the white chocolate and raspberries until they're dotted throughout. 

7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and level it out. Put in the oven for 30 minutes. When the time is up gently shake the tin. If the brownie wobbles in the middle, it's not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes until the top has a shiny, papery crust and the sides are just beginning to come away from the tin. Take out of the oven.

8. Leave in the tin until completely cold, then, lift out the brownie block. Cut into as many squares as you like, sometimes I only manage about 8! Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to a month.