I’m not one for New Years resolutions, particularly if they don’t include chocolate. So here’s the richest, fudgiest, and most indulgent chocolate brownie recipe: a gift from 18-year-old Mina to you. I may now be a little older and slightly better at baking, but this recipe is as treasured as when I first found it.

I’ll also use this opportunity to rave about the Hiltl restaurant in Zurich (a.k.a. home) where I adapted this recipe from. It’s just super tasty food. Environmental bonus points because Hiltl also happens to be the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world (and the environment sure could use some saving this year).

Ingredients

• 215g unsalted butter
• 300g dark chocolate (I use 50% cocoa chocolate)
• 3 large eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 300g brown muscovado sugar (I almost exclusively use Claro Mascobado Vollrohrzucker but any light muscovado sugar will work)
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 180g sliced walnuts
• 80g wholemeal spelt flour
• 135g half-white flour (Halbweismehl or Bauernmehl. A mix of wholemeal and white flour)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Butter and flour a baking tin (I use a 23cm square baking tin)
3. Melt the butter and the chocolate on a double boiler and set aside to cool a little
4. Beat the eggs with the salt and brown sugar until fluffy
5. Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and add the vanilla
6. Fold in the flours and chopped walnuts
7. Pour the mix into the baking tin
8. Bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted 1cm from the edge comes out clean, but any further in the middle is still gooey
9. Let the brownie cool then refrigerate for a few hours until the brownie can be cut into neat-edged bars. For me, a chocolate brownie should be a fudgy bar eaten cold and this recipe tastes great when eaten so.

No-nut variation

Just replace 100g of the dark chocolate with milk chocolate, omit the walnuts, and bake 25 minutes instead of 30 🙂