Brownies (Belgian Triple Chocolate)

There are so many recipes out there, but this one is unique because it combines dark, milk and white chocolate - triple homemade chocolate brownies.

butter, I used Kerrygold, but any unsalted butter would do the job (185 g)
dark chocolate, I used Callebaut (185 g)
all-purpose flour, unbleached (85 g)
cocoa powder, you can use the powder you make chocolate milk with (40 g)
white chocolate chips, Callebaut or just cut up bars (50 g)
milk chocolate chips, Callebaut or just cut up bars (50 g)
3 large eggs
golden caster sugar, or a combination of white sugar and dark brown sugar (275 g)

Start with the butter and dark chocolate. Make sure the butter isn’t too hard or too cold. You can take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start. Cut it up in small pieces and put them in a bowl.

Add the dark chocolate. The easiest thing is to use chocolate drops, but if you can’t get your hands on those you can just cut up bars of dark chocolate. Make sure you work with the best quality chocolate as it obviously makes a big difference in taste.

Add the pieces of chocolate to the bowl with butter and put the bowl on a pot with hot water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t sit in the water (au-bain-marie). Let the chocolate and butter melt on a low temperature and stir occasionally.

While the chocolate is melting on the hob, you can prepare the rest of the brownie mix.

Sieve the flour and the cocoa powder in a small bowl. Do this by gently shaking the sieve from left to right and back again. This will get rid of any lumps and mix the flour and cocoa powder together. Then, put the bowl to the side.

Take a bigger bowl and break three large eggs. Whisk the eggs briefly until they form a smooth yellow substance, then add the caster sugar (or a mix of caster, white and dark brown sugar) and whisk until you have a thick light yellow substance which looks a bit like a thick milkshake. When you lift the whisk and the mixture leaves a trail on the surface for a few seconds, you know the whisk has done the job. It is best to use an electric whisk because it is easier to get the thickness that you need for these gooey homemade chocolate brownies.

When the chocolate and butter are nearly melted, you can take the warm bowl from the hob and stir until you get rid of the last bits of chocolate. By doing this the chocolate mix will cool more quickly and you don’t have any lumps.

If you don’t have milk and white drops of chocolate, you can cut up some bars of both in small pieces. Put these aside, they will go in at the very end.

Preheat the oven on 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3) and take a square (or round) tin. Brownies are usually made in a square tin, but if you don’t have that, a round tin will do. Cover the bottom of the tin with some baking paper. If you have a good tin, you don’t need to worry about the sides, but if you’re not sure, brush a little butter onto the sides and sprinkle some flour on top. Turn the tin around as you do this, tapping it slightly, so that the flour spreads over the four sides of the tin.

Pour the cooled chocolate mix over the eggy substance. You will see the chocolate will disappear to the bottom of the egg mousse, leaving a trail on the surface at the end. I like to have fun while doing this by making silly wee drawings as I pour.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the chocolate and the eggy mousse together. Do this very carefully. You don’t want to break the fluffy egg substance. Make gentle movements and take your time to do this until you get a brown coloured mix.

Hold the sieve over the bowl and sieve the flour and cocoa a second time. Then very gently mix it under the chocolate and egg mixture. At first the mixture will seem very dry but keep folding in the powder until you get a thick darker brown sticky substance. Then add the bits of milk and white chocolate and fold them under the mix too.

The mix is now ready to go in the oven. Gently pour the mixture into the tin, using your spatula to get every little bit in there. Don’t forget to taste the mix, you will be excited to taste the baked brownie! Use the rubber spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the tin into the corners and go from side to side to have a flat surface.

Put the tin in the oven for 20-25 minutes in the middle or closer to the bottom shelf of the oven. Check after 20 minutes and if the brownie is still wobbling in the middle, put it in for an extra few minutes. The homemade chocolate brownies are ready when you see a glazy shiny surface and when the sides are coming loose from the tin.

Let it cool completely before you take it out, otherwise it might break! When cooled you can flip the tin upside down to take it out if you’re not working with a spring tin.

Cut the brownie into small squares and serve on its own or with some vanilla ice cream or raspberries.

Store leftovers in an airtight container for at least a week in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer.