Day 9 of our Advent Calendar: Brownie Flavoured Hot Dark Chocolate and Brownie recipes

Day 9 of our Advent Hot Chocolate Calendar brings you a festive treat: Delicious Brownies! This easy and fun recipe is perfect for the whole family to get involved with. Not only does it taste divine, but it's also packed with the goodness of our 80Noir Ultra chocolate. So, why not take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle and enjoy a moment of indulgence with us? Click below to explore our recipe and start creating your own brownie-inspired recipe today!

Brownie Flavoured Hot Dark Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 bars or 23g of 80Noir Ultra
• 250ml of milk (or water for a dairy-free option)
• 1 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (I like to use black cacao powder of extra oomph)
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk (or water) until hot but not boiling.
2. Add the 80Noir Ultra bars/beads and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted.
3. Stir in the cocoa powder, sea salt, and vanilla extract.
4. Continue to heat the mixture on a low flame, whisking continuously until it's hot and frothy.
5. Pour into a mug and enjoy the brownie flavoured hot dark chocolate.

Dark Hot Chocolate Brownie recipe 

Prep Time: 20 Mins | Cook Time: 25 Mins | Cool Time: 2 Hours (This is very important!)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter
• 6 oz (170g) 80Noir Ultra beads
• 1 tbsp instant espresso* (You don’t need to add this for the children) ** Optional (of licorise powder) 
• 1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (92g) Self Raising Flour (GF)
• 1/3 cup (25g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 oz (110g) 80Noir Ultra beads
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling * optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (170C) and grease and line an 8 x 8 square baking dish with parchment paper. Allow the paper to hang over the sides for easy removal.Top Tip: Put your parchment paper under water and crinkle it so it fits the tin perfectly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the 170g of 80NU
3. Then brown the butter. Do so by adding the butter to a saucepan over medium heat.
4. Melt down and heat the butter as it goes from loud and bubbly to quiet and foamy (about 8 minutes). Once it’s foaming, continue mixing until the butter turns a rich amber colour and gives off a nutty aroma.
5. Pour the hot brown butter over the chocolate (scraping in the brown bits at the bottom of the pot) and stir to combine and melt. Then whisk in the espresso powder. Tip: The Espresso powder can be left out for children
6. While that melts and cools, whisk together the Self Raising flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Set aside.
7. Once the butter and chocolate have melted and cooled, add the sugars and whisk to combine.
8. Then add the eggs and vanilla and vigorously whisk for about 1 minute – the batter should thicken a bit.
9. Sift in the dry ingredients (to remove any lumps in the cocoa powder) and use a rubber spatula to fold the batter together.
10. Just before the dry ingredients are fully mixed in, add in about 3/4 (80g) of the chopped other dark chocolate and continue to fold the batter together. Top tip: Stop right when the chocolate is evenly distributed as you do not want to over mix.
11. Pour the batter into the baking dish and spread it even. Top with the remaining chopped dark chocolate.
12. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted into puddles and the surface is crackled and glossy.
13. Slam the pan against a hard surface a few times to help deflate the brownies. This will give you that rich and fudgy texture in the centre. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack.
14. Sprinkle with a few pinches of flaky sea salt and allow the brownies to cool completely. You can either patiently wait a few hours by leaving them at room temperature or speed up the processes and chill them in the fridge.
15. You know they’re ready to slice by how the brownies bend when you lift them out of the pan. If it easily bows in the centre as you try to lift them out, they need to chill or cool for longer. If it bends just slightly but feels sturdy when lifted, they’re OK to slice.
16. Use a large shape knife and make one-motion swift cuts, avoiding dragging the knife down the brownies. Wipe down the knife between each cut for perfect slices.
17. Enjoy!

FAQs

ESPRESSO POWDER – This helps add depth to these brownies, so I highly recommend keeping it in! Please leave it out for the children’s brownies. 1 tablespoon really enhances that dark chocolate flavour, but you can choose to use just 1 or 2 tsp for a milder flavour.

GLUTEN FREE FLOUR– I use GF all the time, gluten free baking flour acts very similar to self-raising flour. Make sure you gently spoon and level the flour or weigh the flour for accuracy. Gluten free flour tends to be more dense than self-raising flour, so it’s easy to use too much when measuring by volume (aka cups).

DARK CHOCOLATE – You can add in milk chocolate if you want a slightly softer version, however I would not recommend it. It does truly taste sublime with the chocolate.

SAFETY – It is the responsibility of the adults to ensure the safety of the children, This is a fun project to do together, however please make sure they are supervised at all times and away from any hot products within the making and after of the brownies.