Cherry Brandy Dark Chocolate Brownies

I love a good brownie but i can not tell you my disappointment when i bite into a brownie and it is dry and cakey. A good brownie should be stupidly rich, dark and gooey. I am not one for blondies or brownies that are too sweet, the darker the better. I have used my recipe for brownies and changed it again by adding some booze and fresh cherries to make them taste even better!

Some of my other bakes have looked elegant and photographed beautifully but it is difficult to photograph a gooey lump of chocolate and make it look elegant. I did decorate them with a pinch of red glitter to give them the festive edge but the selling point to these brownies really is the taste.

You will need:

185g unsalted butter

185g good quality dark chocolate

275g Light brown sugar

80g Ground Almonds

50g Plain flour

3 Large eggs

200ml Cherry Brandy

200g Fresh Cherries

100g Milk chocolate

1. Firstly stone your cherries and place in a saucepan on a simmering heat along with your Cherry Brandy. This will cook off the alcohol but marinates your cherries in a lovely boozy flavour. Leave these to one side until they are cool.

2. Now melt your dark chocolate and unsalted butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan until your chocolate and butter is melted, then leave to one side. Once cool add this to your flour, almonds, eggs, sugar.

3. Finally add in chunks of your milk chocolate and your Cherry Brandy mixture and gently stir in until you have a smooth consistency. Pour your mixture into a lined square tin. Use a deeper smaller tin if you want deeper brownies. Bake at 180 for 30 minutes or until a crust appears on top and it is firm to touch.

4. Remove from your tin and leave until completely cool before you cut them up. These brownies are amazing warm with some fresh whipped or chantilly cream or a little creme fraiche.

These are another example of bakes that would make good christmas gifts. Wrap in cellophane with red ribbon and make some home made gifts tags with a sprig of holly and give to incredibly grateful family and friends.