Original recipe of the week: Chocolate Chai Brownies

So it’s Mothering Sunday this weekend and what better than to treat your mum to a sweet home-made treat? We all know mums love tea and chocolate so we thought that an innovative take on the traditional chocolate brownie with a twist of chai tea flavouring would be right up their street. Rich dark chocolate, crunchy nuts and sweet spicy chai enhance our brownie to within an inch of its life. If you decide to make your mum this special treat for Mother’s Day, just promise us you’ll clean up the kitchen after yourself!

Chocolate Chai Brownies

Serves: 8-10
Cook time: 30 minutes

What you will need:

150g dark whole nut chocolate
2 tbsp double cream
140g unsalted butter (cubed)
80g plain flour
3 eggs
50g ground almonds
50g desiccated coconut
1 tbsp salt
100g caster sugar
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 tsp course ground black pepper

What you need to do:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 170°C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Melt your chocolate in the microwave on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until melted.
2. Remove from the microwave and stir it well, adding in the cream, butter, eggs and sugar. Continue to stir this thoroughly, at the same time adding in the spices one at a time gradually.
3. When combined add in the coffee, vanilla, flour, ground almonds and coconut.
4. Mix again and when all is  incorporated transfer into the baking tin and cook for about 20 minutes or until it has a slight crust on the top but still soft and gooey in the middle.
5. When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool before cutting into slabs.

Bethany Stone