Comfort cook

Delicious Norse-inspired brownies

Named after the Norse god, Loki’s brownies are naughty but oh-so nice

The name Loki comes from Norse mythology. He was a trickster god and also a shapeshifter. This brownie often shape-shifts too, depending on what you choose to fill it with: it may not be quite what it was the last time you had it...

— 200g good-quality 70 per cent dark chocolate — 250g unsalted butter — 275g caster sugar

— 3 eggs

— 75g plain flour

— 50g good-quality cocoa powder

— 1 tsp vanilla sugar or extract, or use the seeds from 1 vanilla pod

— 150g filling of your choice

Filling suggestions

— nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, macadamias or Brazil nuts

— your favourite sweets, such as marshmallows, toffees, liquorice, soft nougat, mint chocolates or chocolate buttons — dried fruit, such as raisins or cherries

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas mark 3½ . Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but take care to just melt, not cook, it. Set aside to cool.

Beat together the caster sugar and eggs by hand using a balloon whisk in a large mixing bowl. There is no need to beat in loads of air as you don’t want the brownie to rise too much. Ensure the melted chocolate-butter has cooled sufficiently, then stir it into the sugaregg mixture.

Sift the plain flour, cocoa powder and a pinch of salt into the bowl. Add the vanilla and fold with a spatula until smooth. Take care not to overwork the mixture.

Fold in 100g of your chosen filling. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining filling on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25–30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the side comes out clean – the middle can still be gooey but it should not wobble when you shake the pan. Leave to cool, then cut into squares to serve.

Note: baking times will vary. Brownies are quite forgiving if you cook them on a lower heat for a longer time – so keep checking the edges and just make sure you don’t overbake. It’s better to slightly underbake a brownie, if anything. Recipe from Scandikitchen: The Essence of Hygge, by Brontë Aurell (Ryland, Peters & Small, £9.99)

A K