Fudgy Coffee Brownies

Coffee makes chocolate taste more intensely like itself. These brownies use just enough espresso for depth, with a dense centre and the thin crackled top everyone reaches for first.

Ingredients

• 180 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 150 g unsalted butter
• 220 g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 90 g plain flour
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 80 g dark chocolate chips

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper.

Melt the chopped chocolate and butter together in short bursts in the microwave or in a bowl over barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and leave to cool for five minutes.

Whisk the sugar and eggs for two minutes, until slightly thickened. Whisk in the vanilla and espresso powder, followed by the melted chocolate mixture.

Sift in the flour, cocoa, and salt. Fold just until combined, then stir in half the chocolate chips. Spread in the tin and scatter over the rest.

Bake for 23 to 27 minutes. The edges should be set while the centre still has a slight wobble. Cool completely in the tin before cutting.

For clean slices

Chill the cooled slab for 30 minutes, then cut with a warm, dry knife. Bring the brownies back to room temperature before eating.