Plum and chocolate brownies

plum brownie

This recipe is based on Nigel Slater's chocolate damson cake, but mine was more of a brownie than an actual cake. This is probably because I mixed it in a food processor instead of a food mixer, so it didn't really go 'light and fluffy'. It still tasted great though.

I used the preserved plums I'd made from some of this year's plum harvest instead of damsons. This meant I missed out the step of cooking them in sugar, since I'd already done this to preserve them. I had a slightly smaller quantity than the recipe stated.

I also used different types of sugar than Nigel, as I didn't have any light muscovado.

Plum and chocolate brownie ingredients

• 250g dark chocolate
• 250g butter
• 125g caster sugar
• 25g dark muscovado sugar
• 100g light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 60g self-raising flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 320g preserved plums, drained

How to make plum and chocolate brownies

1. Line a 22cm square cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
3. Break up the chocolate and place in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water.
4. Turn off the heat as soon as the chocolate starts to melt, but leave the bowl over the water.
5. Cut the butter into small dice and add to the chocolate.
6.  Stir gently till the butter melts.
7. Separate the eggs. 
8. Put the yolks in a food processor (or mixer if you have one) with the sugars and beat till combined (or 'light and fluffy' if you're using a food mixer).
9. Add the sugar and egg mixture to the chocolate and butter, and stir to combine.
10. Add the flour and cocoa; stir to combine.
11. Whisk the eggs in a clean bowl till they form soft peaks.
12. Fold this into the cake mix with a large metal spoon. 
13. Put the cake mix into the baking tin.
14. Pour the plums over the cake mix and gently swirl through with a spoon.
15. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.