Gooey chocolate hazelnut brownies
This dense and fudgy brownie recipe adds chocolate hazelnut spread into the mix as well as crunchy toasted hazelnuts.
Ingredients
- 100g/3½oz plain flour
- 50g/1¾oz cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 300g/10½oz dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids
- 250g/9oz butter
- 250g/9oz granulated sugar
- 4 free-range eggs
- 100g/3½oz hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 100g/3½oz chocolate hazelnut spread (optional)
- 50ml/2fl oz hazelnut liqueur (optional)
Method
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Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3. Line a 30x20cm/12x8in straight-sided brownie tin with foil or non-stick baking parchment.
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Sieve the flour, cocoa, and baking powder together in a bowl and add a good pinch of salt. Break 250g/9oz of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a barely simmering saucepan of water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Leave to melt, stirring regularly.
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When the chocolate has melted, remove and leave to cool slightly. Roughly chop the remaining chocolate and set it aside.
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Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then pour in the chocolate. Mix thoroughly, then add a third of the flour mixture. Stir to combine, then repeat with the other two-thirds of flour.
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Add half of the hazelnuts and all the reserved chopped chocolate and stir to combine, then scrape the mixture into the prepared tin.
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Whisk the chocolate spread and hazelnut liqueur together (if using), until you have a smooth, spoonable paste. Make little wells in the brownie mix and add spoonfuls of the mixture.
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Sprinkle over the remaining hazelnuts and press down lightly. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes, testing after 25 minutes. When the brownies are done a wooden skewer should come out with a few crumbs attached – it shouldn’t be wet, but it shouldn’t be completely clean either.
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Leave to cool in the tin. If you can bear to wait, put the brownie tin in the fridge to rest overnight before cutting them – it will help them settle into a consistency that isn’t too cake-like. Cut into squares and store in an airtight tin.
