Saying thank you with brownies

If you’ve stayed at the Long Barn you’ll know that just before you leave, we drop off a little treat for the journey home. Our original aim was to keep this a surprise. However, so many guests have said how much they love the brownies, its no longer a secret…

We’ve had many requests for the recipe, so we thought we’d put it on this blog. You’ll also find the recipes for our granola and lemon drizzle cake on previous blogs.

We’ve made hundreds of trays of this recipe since opening. Our one tip would be better under than over baked.

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter

250g good quality dark chocolate 70%+

4 large eggs

2/3 tablespoon vanilla extract

335g golden caster sugar

150g plain flour

2/3 tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Grease a tin (23x30x3 cm)  and line with non-stick baking liner.

If you line it generously with paper, it’ll help you lift the brownies out when cooked and cooled.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large heavy based pan. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.

Measure the flour into another bowl with the salt.

When the chocolate mix has completely melted, let it cool slightly and then beat in the eggs and sugar. When combined, beat in the flour until smooth.

Scrape mixture into the tin and bake for 20 minutes.

When it’s ready, the top should have a dry pale brown crust, but the middle should still be dense and gooey.

Better to be alert and keep checking. If in doubt,  take it out earlier. No one likes a dry brownie and no one has complained about a squidgy one.

It will keep cooking when in the tray. If you want to stop it cooking, put (carefully) in a sink of cold water.

When it’s properly cooled, divide into pieces.

Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.