This rainy weekend in September provides my daughter - and me - with her first experience of Brownie camp. To help it all go with a swing, and to keep the Brown Owls happy, we were asked to send along a cake. This is a recipe that she can actually do all by herself now - being a grown up 9 years, which helps her on the long road to self discovery too! This is her favourite chocolate brownie recipe, and believe me we have tried many, which fitted the bill perfectly.

Ready

• 225g Dark or semi sweet chocolate - Bournville is our preference
• 125g unsalted butter
• 125g plain flour - I always use organic
• 1 tspn baking powder
• 125g light brown soft sugar
• 2 large eggs

Set

• Metal or heatproof bowl the right size to fit over a pan of simmering water without touching the surface
• Wooden spoon
• Baking tin approx. 18cm square

Go

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. I always make sure the rack is on the middle shelf too at this stage.
2. Line the baking tin with parchment, or butter and flour it all around.
3. Put 50g of the chocolate in the bowl with the butter and set it over a pan of simmering water to melt - alternatively you could melt in the microwave by blasting it for 30 seconds at a time and stirring in between until melted.
4. When melted, stir in the sugar, then the eggs - it is important to do it in that order otherwise the eggs cook - and then the flour.
5. Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
6. Cool completely in the tin, before turning out to cut - well that’s the textbook ending, but ours was more like - as soon as it is cooked, fling it out of the oven on to the board, cutting as you go, into the tupperware box and lid on otherwise we will miss the coach!
7. But Brown Owl was very happy to be handed a warm box of fresh brownies on a wet Friday afternoon.

What you should know

I will let you know what the Brownie pack thought of our brownies….