Definitely count's as a study aid if you ask me!

Now I know that technically I'm about all thing's books and writing, but that doesn't mean there can't be the odd digression every now and again, and this one is more than worth it's place. Whether reading, working, studying you can never go wrong with a good brownie to cheer you up.

These brownies actually derive from the Chocolate Brownie Biscuit recipe from Economy Gastronomy (A fantastic book by the way). I tweaked it slightly to make full on brownies and altered the ingredients to make them gluten free - just make sure you check the chocolate you use!

If lost count of the number of times I made these in fourth year and for some reason these are also best the day after they've been made... ENJOY!

Chocolate Brownies


Ingredients:
2 eggs
130g caster sugar
1/2 tbsp strong black coffee
20g butter
200g plain chocolate, in pieces
30g rice flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch salt

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

In a bowl whisk the eggs, sugar and coffee together for 7-8 minutes or till thicker, lighter in colour and well combined - I should add here that I never actually measure out the amount of coffee I put in I just splash in what I want, and I never time how long I whisk it for, I just keep going till it feels right.

Set up a make-shift bain-marie and melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. When melted, smooth and well combined lift of the heat and set aside for 4-5 minutes - again I'm not strict about this, but make it's left long enough so that the eggs don't start to scramble with the heat.

When the chocolate has cooled slightly, stir in the egg mixture till well combined - I actually prefer to fold it in to keep the brownies light.

Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt till well combined.

Grease and line a baking tray of your choice (this is of course a very personal thing, If you are anything like me you will have a perfect brownie tray, or you will soon).

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, the timing will depend on how you're oven works. If you're not that in-tune with your oven, leave for at least 20 minutes then do the skewer test to see how cooked through they are. It's no bad thing if they're slightly gooey.

Leave them to cool in the tin for a while so that they don't fall to pieces when you transfer them to the cooling rack. They will be beautifully cracked on top and cakey and gooey in the middle ...

Finally, munch them down, and they are always best shared.

Happy Baking xx