PREPARATION TIME: 12 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 35 MINUTES

MAKES: ENOUGH FOR 8

M&M® BROWNIES

I often say I’m not much of a ‘sweets’ guy and baking for me isn’t something I really enjoy but these brownies can bring a smile to anyone’s face and for me it’s probably the only ‘cake’ type of dish I’ll eat. This sweet dish I could eat forever, especially with a bit of vanilla ice cream, and the colours from the M&M’s will make even the biggest kid smile!

150 g (5½ oz) butter, cut into cubes

200 g (7 oz) good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped

200 g (7 oz) brown sugar

1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

pinch salt

3 whole free-range eggs

80 g (2¾ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 cup M&M’s®, plus extra to scatter over top

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/Gas 1–2). Grease and line a 15 cm (6 inch) square baking tin ready for your mixture (see note).

In a double boiler (or use a glass or stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of gently boiling water), melt together the butter and chocolate, stirring gently to combine. Once fully melted and combined, remove from the heat and add the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.

Beat the eggs into the chocolate mix one at a time, mixing well each time before adding the next egg. Once the final egg has been added, sift in the flour and beat together until you have a silky smooth mixture. At this stage, you fold through your M&M’s.

Pour the mix into the baking tin, ensuring the mix is level. Grab the extra M&M’s and sprinkle on top. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. When cooked, allow to cool slightly then turn out onto a wire rack, do a double flip so the M&M’s are on top. Serve as they are or with some vanilla ice cream.

NOTES

∎   Grease the baking tin with softened butter and line the base with baking paper to prevent the brownie from sticking.

∎   If you want to double the recipe, the contents will fit a 20 cm x 30 cm (8 inch x 12 inch) baking dish and will need to be cooked for a further 25–30 minutes.