Browniebabe of the month

Foodbloggers are a generous and inspiring bunch. There's always plenty of new recipes featured on blogs to try and people are quick and generous with their tips and advice on how to fix recipes that didn't work, how to source hard-to-find ingredients and how to use up excess ingredients.

Another fun aspect is the number of baking events people host. There's both regular and one-off events for people to contribute to. I always intend to enter these events but somehow the time gets away and I miss the closing date.

This time I'm more organised and am entering the Browniebabe of the Month event, hosted by Once Upon A Tart. What could be more inspiring than a collection of brownie recipes, hopefully crammed full of chocolate and nuts?

My mother-in-law was recently experimenting in the kitchen and came up with these nut brownies. She gave us a plate to take home and we almost said no, foolishly thinking we should be cutting down on sweet food. Luckily she pressed us, so we took home the plate and tried them the next day. We were hooked and scoffed the whole lot. These brownies are wickedly rich and densely chocolatey, with a thick chocolate icing, and a nice crunch of nuts throughout. They're also great heated and served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Make these brownies when you're in a decadent mood.

NUT BROWNIES

200g (7 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
175g (6 oz) unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
230g (i cup) soft brown sugar
1/3 cup plain flour
1/2 cup slivered almonds
100g extra dark chocolate, chopped
Icing
200g dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup icing sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Lightly grease a 20cm square tin and line with baking paper (overlap the sides). Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk the eggs and sugar for five minutes, until pale and thick. Fold in cooled chocolate and butter, then the sifted flour and cocoa. Fold in the nuts and extra chocolate. Pour into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until firm. Cool.

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and then cool slightly. Add the sour cream and sifted icing sugar. Mix well. Spread over the brownie, smooth the top and sprinkle over some slivered almonds. Leave to set, then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.