makes 25 pieces
Goooood morning from bed with my second vat of tea – today’s recipe is one I created for Dish magazine last Christmas, and it is so bloody good I wanted to share it with you here. (Lesley – d’oh – I’m SO sorry I forgot to send this to you yesterday!). Anyhoo, I’m finally recovered from my birthday bash and ready to get into the Christmas spirit, so these incredible brownies are on the list to make – dark, chocolatey, dense and (dare I say it) moist, they are given a festive, lightly spiced kick with the addition of fruit mince. Seriously, you can’t really tell until you bite into one, but when you do…phwoar!
And so, yes, I’m feeling ready to start getting my Christmas vibe going. So far the sum total of my festive decorating is a bright red wreath on the door, so finally yesterday I ordered a tree to be delivered today (no way one of them was going to fit in my Mini), and did my first bit of present shopping. I sat down and planned my Christmas brunch menu and almost contemplated putting on some Christmas music…almost. (Maybe today when I decorate the tree). It is so weird to do things like this by myself after being so focussed on creating special occasions and memories for my darling boys and our little family for so long. Pog is staying in Melbourne for Christmas to share the day with lovely Will’s family, and Hoob is only with me for Christmas Eve and the first part of the actual day. So. In the same way I almost ignored turning 50 but then threw a party instead, I am making myself sort Christmas for myself – and even though it also feels slightly ridiculous and indulgent, if I don’t do it then I reckon it will be miserable. So then, tree, decorations, chocolate Christmas mince brownies, and oh go on then, the Pogues, George Michael and even Bing Crosby might make it onto Spotify today…
250g butter, chopped into cubes
300g 70% dark chocolate, cut into chunks
6 eggs
2 cups caster sugar
1 2/3 cups plain flour
1 cup dark Dutch cocoa powder
2 cups fruit mince (I used a 500g container of Tasti old English Fruit mince)
Preheat the oven to 170˚C and line a 28cm x 20cm deep slice tin with baking paper. Melt the dark chocolate and butter together in the microwave at a low heat. Heat in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring in-between each until smooth and melted. Beat the eggs with the caster sugar in a separate bowl until pale and creamy. Add the melted chocolate and mix to combine. Sift the flour and cocoa into the mixture, and stir to combine. Mix through the fruit mince and pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 45-50 minutes until cooked through. Cool in the tin before cutting into squares. Makes approximately 25 pieces.
