Chocolate and hazelnut brownie traybake

We were invited to our friends’ house for Sunday lunch yesterday and I volunteered to make a dessert; what I didn’t expect was to have such a late night on Friday that Saturday was essentially a write off apart from ordering Papa John’s Pizza at 2pm. So yesterday morning I woke up and suddenly panicked that I had not prepared to make anything. I scanned my baking cupboards and had a brainwave; chocolate brownies – tasty and quick, they would be ideal served with some ice cream.

What I love about brownies is that you can add almost anything to the mixture; I added rum and toasted hazelnuts but why not try some kirsch soaked cherries, some white chocolate chips or peanut butter? The world is your brownie oyster…or some such equivalent saying...

So here it is; chocolate and hazelnut brownie traybake!

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 27 mins

What you’ll need

400g caster sugar

225g salted butter, melted

60g cocoa powder, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

225g plan flour, sifted

Half a teaspoon baking powder

Half a teaspoon salt

60g blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped and lightly toasted

100ml dark rum (50ml added to cake mix, 50ml to brush over the cake once cooked)

How to make it

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and grease a rectangular 23x33cm traybake tin (or a shallow roasting tin will work just as well)

Mix all the ingredients together in the order given.

Tip the mixure into the tray and spread evenly before popping the tray in the oven for 27 minutes.

Leave to cool for about 5 minutes before using a skewer to make a few holes in the top of the cake. Brush the rum over the top of the cake and allow to soak in.

Leave the brownies to cool before cutting them into (roughly) 24 pieces.

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Enjoy!

R x