Guinness brownies

Stout balances the sweetness of the caramel, adding a subtle bitterness.

1 HOUR 15 MINUTES | SERVES 12 A LITTLE EFFORT

Guinness 330ml

butter 250g, cubed, plus extra for the tin

golden caster sugar 350g

double cream 50ml

dark chocolate 250g, chopped

large eggs 3 vanilla extract 1 tsp

plain flour 75g

cocoa powder 50g

1 Pour the Guinness into a large pan set over a medium-high heat and bubble until reduced by half. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter the base of a 20cm x 20cm brownie tin and line with baking paper.

2 Once the Guinness has reduced, pour half the liquid into a jug. Set what remains in the pan aside. Sprinkle 50g of the sugar into a small frying pan set over a high heat and cook until caramelised, swirling the pan occasionally (but do not stir) so the sugar doesn’t catch. Once the sugar has turned into a deep amber caramel, carefully pour in the cream and swirl the pan to dissolve the sugar. Pour in the Guinness from the jug and 25g of the butter. The mixture may seize at first but don’t worry – stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has melted again and you have a smooth, dark caramel. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.

3 Tip the remaining butter and 200g of the dark chocolate into the pan of Guinness. Return the pan to a low heat, stirring occasionally until the butter and chocolate have melted together. Remove from the heat, whisk in the remaining sugar and add the eggs. Whisk well to combine. Add the vanilla, flour, cocoa and 1/2 tsp of fine sea salt. Whisk until smooth.

4 Stir the remaining chocolate through the brownie batter, then pour half into the prepared tin and swirl through half the caramel using the tip of a cutlery knife. Repeat with the remaining batter and caramel.

5 Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are set but the middle is still a little wobbly. Leave to cool, then cut into 12 squares to serve.

PER BROWNIE 483 kcals | fat 30.7G saturates 18.3G | carbs 42.8G | sugars 35.3G fibre 3.2G | protein 5.5G | salt 0.7G