Our first Meeting

Orange & Pecan Brownies.

• 300g Dark Fairtrade chocolate
  250g unsalted butter
  150g golden caster sugar                                                                       150g demera sugar
  3 free range eggs, plus 1 extra egg yolk                                                     2 tablespoons orange essence
  60g plain organic flour
  ½ tsp baking powder
  Pinch of fine sea salt
  75g Fairtrade cocoa powder
  100g pecans (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C, and line a 23cm x 23cm baking tin with baking parchment.

2. Set a bowl over,a pan of simmering water, and add 250g of the chocolate, broken into pieces. Melt, stirring occasionally, and then remove from the heat. 

3. In the mean time beat the butter and all of the sugar together until light and fluffy.

4. Keep your mixer running and add the eggs and orange essence beating well. Leave your mixer on a high speed for five minutes until the batter has a glossy sheen, and has almost doubled in volume.

5. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and gently fold in the melted chocolate and chocolate with a metal spoon.  Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and the pecans and break the remaining of the chocolate into small chips and add these too. 

6. Spoon the mixture into the tin, and bake for 30 minutes. When you test with a skewer; it should come out sticky, but not coated with the raw mixture. If it does, put it back into the oven for another few minutes, then test again.

7. As soon as the brownies are ready pop them into the coldest part of the fridge for an hour then leave to cool for an hour before cutting into squares. Store in an air-tight tin and if you can resist eating them they are even nicer the following day.