Netflix and chilli brownies

‘These are graduates of the decadently fudgy school of brownie, but I’ve turned up the heat with ginger and chilli and added popcorn for a movie-night feel. Ancho chilli flakes bring a gentle, fruity heat, but you can use normal chilli (just use half as much) or leave it out.’

MAKES 16 small brownies

● 200g unsalted butter, chopped into rough cubes, plus extra to grease

●200g dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa solids), roughly broken into pieces

● 150g caster sugar

● 150g light muscovado sugar

● 80g crunchy toffee popcorn, such as Butterkist

● 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

● 60g plain flour

● 60g cocoa powder

● 1tsp ancho chilli flakes

● 60g stem ginger, chopped, plus 1tbsp syrup from the jar

● 1/2 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, to garnish, optional

1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease a 20cm square tin with a little butter and line with baking parchment.

2 Put the butter and chocolate in a medium pan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring, until smooth and melted. Take off the heat, add the sugars and stir until smooth. Set aside and let cool for at least 5min.

3 Meanwhile, put the popcorn into a bag and bash roughly with the end of a rolling pin so that you have some bigger and some smaller chunks.

4 Add the eggs to the chocolate mix and stir until glossy and combined. Sift over the flour, cocoa powder and 1/4tsp salt, add the chilli flakes and gently fold together. Fold in the stem ginger and syrup and most of the popcorn.

5 Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin. Scatter remaining popcorn on top, pressing it into the batter slightly. Bake for 45-50min (cover with foil after 20min if it looks like the popcorn is catching), until set on top and there’s no movement; a skewer inserted will still come out rather wet. Leave the brownies to cool before slicing. Scatter over the red chilli before serving, if you like. Offer to your date with ice cream and a smile.