Chocolate Brownies from Good in Bed

Dear Cannie

I don't know how I'd react if an ex-boyfriend of mine wrote in a magazine read by thousands of women that her being a ‘larger woman’ needed an ‘act of courage in our world’ to love her.

Maybe I'd do what you did - and plunge myself into misery. But seeing you claw your way out of that misery, even when one bad thing after another is thrown at you; with humour, with your ambitions, by being yourself, was quite simply captivating. Your book, Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner, had a huge impact on me.

And you know what the best thing about your story was? That you saved yourself. You didn't need a man, you didn't need love, money or a fairy godmother. You just needed to be strong, be resilient. You grabbed your life with both hands and turned it around into one, big advantage.

One of my favourite things about you is your love of food. Chocolate chip scones, chocolate tarts and crème brullee, fried chicken, brownies, chocolate bread pudding, chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. The mouth salivates as we read through your story.

So thank you. Thank you for the inspiration. And for giving me what I want in a novel; a strong heroine, a great story. And food.

Love, Helen

Recipe for Triple Chocolate Brownies

Equipment

Bowl to melt chocolate. Electric mixer. 20cm/8inch square tin (or a rectangular or round one, as long as the squared centimetres add up to the same - or very close), baking parchment to line the tin, spatula.

Ingredients

• 185g butter
• 185g dark chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 275g caster sugar
• 30g cocoa powder
• 85g plain flour
• 100g white chocolate, chopped into small chunks*
• 100g milk chocolate, chopped into small chunks*

*You could replace either of these with dark chocolate chunks or chopped nuts if you like.

Method

• Heat oven to 160c regular or 140c fan.
• Melt the dark chocolate with the butter. Either in the microwave or on the hob. Allow to cool.
• Whisk the eggs with the sugar. Whisk for a few minutes until it is pale and doubled in volume.
• When the chocolate/butter mixture has cooled, fold into the egg/sugar mixture. Don't be vigorous as you don't want to lose the air.
• Sift in the cocoa and flour. Don't overmix.
• Scatter over the chocolate chunks then pour into your lined baking tray.
• Bake for 35 minutes. It should come out wobbly, so you don't think it is done. But it will harden as it cools.
• Enjoy.