Firstly, apologies for the length of time between posts! Let me make it up to you with a chocolate brownie recipe. This one is good to use up the chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies left lying around, that you’d like to get rid of but don’t want to throw out.

It’s sometimes difficult to find a brownie recipe that works every time and allows you to vary it with raspberries, or chocolate chips, or nuts. Four batches were required in the space of three days (thanks to school bake sales, end of term class parties and Dear Husband) and this recipe worked every time. The recipe below has half the sugar of the original recipes I saw, and uses raw cacao. For school I did not use any walnuts, but the batch for Dear Husband had the works- dark and white chocolate chips and walnuts. These brownies take little time to make and are a hit. If you like them sweeter add more sugar or use cocoa instead of cacao.

I hope you are loving easy food

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

150g butter (I used unsalted)

150g caster sugar (you could try raw sugar and give the sugar a blitz to make the grains smaller)

90g raw cacao (I have this in the pantry, but you could use normal baking cocoa)

1tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

85g plain flour

100g white chocolate chips

100g dark chocolate chips (you could alternatively use whatever Easter eggs are left over)

50g walnuts, crushed (if you want to use them)

Preheat the oven to 160degrees Celsius and line a 20cm square baking tine with baking paper

Place the sugar, butter and cacao into the thermomix for 3 minutes, speed 2, 70 degrees, to melt. You could do this step in a saucepan if you do not have a thermomix, but make sure you don’t boil the mixture

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for 10 seconds, speed 3. If you don’t have a thermomix take the saucepan off the heat and add the ingredients,once mixed add to another bowl

Add the flour to the thermomix bowl (or bowl of chocolate mixture) and mix for 15 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down the sides and mix for another 10 seconds if needed

Add the chocolate chips (white and dark) and nuts (if using) and mix on reverse for 5 seconds on speed 4. If doing it in a bowl mix together with a spoon

Pour mixture in to the prepared baking tin and bake for 35 minutes. You want there to be a slight wobble in the middle when it’s finished

Once cooled cut in to squares and enjoy