Recipe - Black Forest Brownies

Another new book, Cookies , is full of scrummy biscuit recipes, ranging from Classic Oat Cookies to more extravagant concoctions like Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cakes. Both books are published by Ryland Peters and Small.

Here's a posh brownie recipe:

Black Forest Brownies

For an alcohol-free alternative use black cherries canned in either juice or light syrup.

(makes 24)

225g good-quality plain chocolate

125g unsalted butter, diced

3tbsp double cream

3 large free-range eggs

225g caster sugar

2tbsp Kirsch or Kirsch syrup from a jar of preserved cherries (optional)

160g plain flour

100g good-quality plain chocolate, roughly chopped or plain choc chips

465g jar or can black cherries (175g drained weight)

icing sugar, for dusting

A brownie tin, 20.5 x 25.5cm, greased and base-lined

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Break the 225 grams of chocolate and put it in a heatproof bowl. Add the diced butter and cream to the bowl and set it over a pan of steaming water. Melt gently, stirring frequently. Remove the bowl from the pan and leave to cool until needed.

Break the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until just frothy. Add the sugar and Kirsch (if using) and whisk until thick and mousse-like. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture.

Sift the flour onto the mixture and stir in. When thoroughly combined stir in the pieces of chocolate. Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and spread evenly. Gently drop the cherries onto the brownie mixture, spacing them as evenly as possible.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until a skewer inserted halfway between the sides and the centre comes out just clean. Remove the tin from the oven.

Leave until cool before removing from the tin and cutting into 24 pieces. Serve dusted with icing sugar. Store in an airtight container and eat within four days.