Brownie trees

Makes 12

150g softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 350g soft brown sugar 2 eggs 2 tbsp blackcurrant liquor ½ tsp salt 1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg 100g plain flour 100g cocoa powder 50g ground almonds ½ tsp baking powder 300g dark chocolate, broken into pieces 100g icing sugar 4 tsp water small edible gold stars, to decorate 12 small sticks Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3 and grease and line a 30cm x 20cm baking tin. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with the back of a wooden spoon for 3 mins until creamy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the blackcurrant liquor, salt, nutmeg, flour, cocoa, ground almonds and baking powder. Place the chocolate pieces in a small bowl. Melt in the microwave for 30 secs. Stir the melted chocolate into the mixture and transfer to the baking tin. Bake for 30 mins on the middle shelf of the oven. Allow to cool completely, then remove from the tin and discard the baking paper. Place the cake on a chopping board and halve lengthways, then cut into triangles by zigzagging cuts down the strips of cake. Collect 12 small, sticks and clean and dry them. Push each stick into the bottom of the triangles to make them look like Christmas trees. In a small bowl, combine the icing sugar and 4 tsp water to make a very thick icing. Transfer the icing to a plastic piping bag and snip off the corner. Pipe a thin line from side to side, from the top to the bottom of each tree, then add gold stars. Allow to set, then serve.