Ingredients

• 100g/3½oz plain flour
• 50g/1¾oz cocoa powder
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 300g/10½oz dark chocolate
• at least 70% cocoa solids
• 250g/9oz butter
• 250g/9oz granulated sugar
• 4 free-range eggs
• 100g/3½oz hazelnuts
• roughly chopped
• 100g/3½oz chocolate hazelnut spread (optional)
• 50ml/2fl oz hazelnut liqueur (optional)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3. Line a 30x20cm/12x8in straight sided brownie tin with foil or non-stick baking parchment.
• Sieve the flour
• cocoa and baking powder together in a bowl and add a good pinch of salt. Break 250g/9oz of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place over a barely simmering saucepan of water
• making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Leave to melt
• stirring regularly.
• When the chocolate has melted
• remove and leave to cool slightly. Roughly chop the remaining chocolate and set aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs
• one at a time
• then pour in the chocolate. Mix thoroughly
• then add a third of the flour mixture. Stir to combine
• then repeat with the other two-thirds of flour.
• Add half of the hazelnuts and all the reserved chopped chocolate and stir to combine
• then scrape the mixture into the prepared tin.
• Whisk the chocolate spread and hazelnut liqueur together (if using)
• until you have a smooth
• spoonable paste. Make little wells in the brownie mix and add spoonfuls of the mixture.
• Sprinkle over the remaining hazelnuts and press down lightly. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes
• testing after 25 minutes. When the brownies are done a wooden skewer should come out with a few crumbs attached – it shouldn’t be wet
• but it shouldn’t be completely clean either.
• Leave to cool in the tin. If you can bear to wait
• put the brownie tin in the fridge to rest overnight before cutting them – it will help them settle into a consistency that isn’t too cake-like. Cut into squares and store in an airtight tin.