Recipe of the week: the ultimate fudgy brownies

If I could eat only one brownie for the rest of my days, this would be it, says Leah Hyslop. Dark and rich, it contains no nuts or other extras to distract from its bewitchingly oozy centre. I promise it will fill any hole in your life.

Ingredients

• 200g unsalted butter, chopped into rough cubes, plus extra for greasing
• 300g dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa solids), roughly broken into pieces
• 300g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 50g plain flour
• 60g cocoa powder
• ½ tsp sea salt, plus extra to sprinkle

Method

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• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm square tin and line with baking parchment.
• Put the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat and melt, stirring, until combined. Stir in the sugar, then take off the heat. Cool for 5mins, until warm to the touch rather than scalding hot.
• Add the eggs to the pan and quickly stir to combine. Now beat, using a handheld electric whisk, on a medium-high speed, for about 3mins; the mixture will become thick and velvety.
• Sift over the flour, cocoa powder and salt, and gently fold in with a spatula or large metal spoon until just combined. Transfer the mixture to your prepared tin – it will be rather thick – spreading the mix into the corners.
• Bake for 30-35mins. It should be set on top, with a few cracks around the edge. Cool in the tin for at least two hours before cutting into squares, then sprinkle crunchy sea salt on top.

Taken from The Brownie Diaries by Leah Hyslop, published by Bloomsbury at £14.99. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £11.99, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.