Rose & Steve's Recipes

This is for those times you urgently need a brownie, but don't want to make — or, rather, can't justify making — a whole batch. This recipe makes two (four if needs be) fudgy brownies to be snaffled straight from the tin. And they can be turned into glorious sundaes: squish into glasses with ice cream, pour a little maple syrup over and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

It is worth keeping takeaway-style foil tins in the house just to make these.

Ingredients

Makes: 2 generous squares or 4 more modest rectangles Metric Cups

• 3 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
• ¼ cup soft light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon (25g) maple or golden syrup or light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons (35g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons (20g) unsweetened cocoa
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg (at room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup walnut pieces
• ¼ cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (as wished)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the butter, sugar and maple or golden syrup or light corn syrup into a small heavy-based saucepan and gently warm, stirring once or twice, until the butter's melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat.

• Fork together the flour, unsweetened cocoa and salt to mix, then beat into the butter and sugar pan with a wooden spoon or spatula until smoothly combined.

• Whisk the egg with the vanilla — just casually, by hand — then stir into the pan, giving a final little whisk, if needed, to make sure everything's mixed together thoroughly, before folding in the nuts and chocolate chips. Pour and scrape this nubbly brownie batter into a foil tin measuring approx. 18 x 11 x 5cm / 7 x 5 x 2in. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until it is beginning to come away at the sides and the top has dried a little just around the edges.

• Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool — but not completely. I leave them for 20-30 minutes (and that's difficult enough) so that my first bite gets them when still warm, but just set enough to cut into 2 squidgy squares. If your need is not so great, or you want them to go further, cut each square in half again.