I was looking forward to trying Paula Peck’s recipe for chocolate brownies, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Delicious and moist with a thin, crisp, shining crust, these are the brownies I’ve been searching for.

The original recipe (as do many – another debate entirely) calls for chopped walnuts, but I haven’t included nuts in any of the recipes I’ve tested. It isn’t that I object or have a strong opinion on whether or not a ‘true brownie’ should be anything more than just chocolatey. It’s just that my two chief tasters (L, soon to be 5 years old and M, who has just celebrated her second birthday) think nuts in brownies are “Yuk”. Who am I to argue?

Paula Peck’s Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from The Art of Fine Baking

6oz plain/bittersweet chocolate
6oz butter
6 eggs
3 cups caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line the bottom of an 11″x16″ cake pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together until fluffy. Don’t overbeat the mixture as this will cause the brownies to be dry and crumbly. Add the vanilla, then stir in the melted butter and chocolate.

Fold the flour and salt gently into the mixture until combined.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top looks dry.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into squares or bars.