in search of the perfect Chocolate Brownie!

You know how it is when you have a tried and tested recipe that you come back to time and again.....well, for years I've used a Mary Berry recipe that never fails to produce a dense, fudgy, chocolatey brownie every time. But, being me, I'm always curious to try out new ideas in search of the definitive recipe.

So, when I saw this recipe for Fudgy Coconut Brownies on the Good Food website I was immediately intrigued; coconut in brownies? hmmm, that's an interesting twist! I have had the recipe bookmarked for ages, but the other day was grey and miserable with just enough of a hint of Autumn in the air to make me think of the warm comfort of baking and filling the house with the aroma of chocolate! The perfect excuse to try out - Coconut Brownies!

This time I didn't make any adjustments to the original recipe because I really liked the way they turned out. Unlike other brownie recipes there is no melted chocolate in the mixture, but they tasted so deeply chocolatey that you would never guess. Despite the name there is really just a hint of coconut in the taste, but it gives the brownies a lovely chewy texture.....and they are very addictive; I had eaten two before they'd even cooled down!

Coconut Brownies

(Recipe from BBC Good Food)

100g cocoa

250g butter

500g caster sugar

4 eggs

100g self-raising flour

100g dessicated coconut

Heat oven to 180C / Gas 4 and line a 21cm square tin with baking paper - I used a standard size swiss roll tin

Melt the butter gently in a large saucepan and then stir in the cocoa and caster sugar until melted and combined. Be careful because it will catch and burn if not stirred constantly

Take off the heat and cool for a few minutes then beat in the rest of the ingredients until well mixed

Pour into prepared tin and bake for about 40 mins until set. Leave to cool in tin and then turn out, dust with icing sugar and cut up into chunky pieces

Beware - they won't last very long!