"The sheer blissful joy of being able to fill one's mouth with rich solid food!" (Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

It's my birthday on Monday (huzzah!) and as I had the afternoon off work, I decided to let the indulgence start early and bake my absolute favourite recipe: chocolate brownies. Most chocolate brownie recipes are pretty similar, and this is one I have adapted in recent years to create- in my opinion- the very best brownies that will ever grace your mouth. This recipe yields roughly 10 rich, gooey and delectably chocolatey cakes that are too good to resist!

The Best Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

185g salted butter

185g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)

80g self raising flour

60g cocoa powder

1 tsp instant coffee

75g white chocolate

75g milk chocolate

3 large eggs

275g granulated sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/gas mark 5, and grease a 25cm diameter tin.

2. Cut the butter and dark chocolate into a microwaveable bowl, and cover in cling film. Pop the bowl into the microwave and heat for 3 minutes, stir, and repeat until all melted. Leave the mixture to cool.

3. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl so they are mixed together. Add the coffee to bring out the flavour of the chocolate.

4. Break the eggs into a large bowl and add the sugar. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until you have a pale, creamy looking mixture.

5. Take the cooled chocolate/butter mixture and pour over the eggy mousse. Gently mix together until the marbled mixture is fully combined.

6. Resive the flour and cocoa powder over the glossy mixture and gently fold this into the mixture. Keep mixing until you have a thick, evenly coloured mixture.

7. Break the milk and white chocolate into chunks and distribute evenly though out the brownie mix. Put the mixture into the tin you prepared earlier.

8. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the mixture is solid if you give the tin a slight shake, and the top has a glossy, delicate crust.

My mouth was watering as I wrote down this recipe so I think it's time for me to go and grab one of the brownies I made earlier- enjoy!