Discover the delights of a classic Chocolate Brownie

Everyone’s favourite dessert, the Chocolate Brownie is taken to the next level in this recipe by the team in the MasterChef kitchen using equipment supplied by The Equipment Co*.

The Equipment Co* equipment

Induction, Electric or Gas cooktop

65mm deep Gastronorm Pans

Convection or Combi Oven

Gastronorm Trolley

Planetary mixer

Ingredients

200g good-quality dark chocolate

120 g unsalted butter, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200 g brown sugar

2 eggs

150 g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

100 g of bling – such as white chocolate, toasted whole almonds or walnuts

flake salt

½ vanilla bean

250ml pouring cream

2 tablespoons icing sugar

Steps

Preheat a Convection or Combi oven to 170ºC.

Melt the chocolate with the butter and vanilla. Do this on an Induction, Electric or Gas Cooktop, in a metal bowl set over a smaller saucepan of boiling water, ensuring the base of the bowl does not touch the water.

Stir until smooth. (Glove up and mind the steam if you use the saucepan method.)

When smooth, remove from the heat. Stir in the sugar until it has dissolved into the chocolate.

Now whisk in first one egg and then the next. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Sift a little of this mixture onto the chocolate mixture and fold it in. Keep going until all the flour is incorporated.

Now it’s time to add the bling! Butter a 65mm deep Gastronorm Tray and line with a sheet of baking paper, extending it beyond the long sides of the tray to act as a sling to lift the brown out of the tin.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and sprinkle with a few grains of flake salt. Bake in the Convection or Combi Oven for 25–30 minutes, which means the brownie will have risen, the top will look shiny and cracked in places and if you jab it with a skewer in the middle it will still come out a bit sticky and fudgy. Cook longer if it’s still sludgy and wet.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin on a Gastronorm Trolley.

Split vanilla bean lengthwise with the tip of a sharp knife. Holding the pod open, scrape seeds from each half using the flat side of the knife. Transfer seeds to the bowl of a Planetary Mixer; discard pod.

Pour the cream over vanilla seeds. Add sugar and vanilla extract. Whip until soft peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Cut into the brownie into squares, top with cream and eat.