Raspberry and roasted hazelnut brownies

My perfect brownie–a rich, fudgy texture, heady with the deep and intense flavour of dark chocolate, with a thin, almost glassy top. These brownies are rippled with crunchy roasted hazelnuts which add a beautiful, nutty depth of flavour, and refreshing, tart bites of raspberries to cut through the richness.

The test batches that I made before finalising this recipe to achieve this ‘perfect’ brownie were never lacking in flavour, but rather what I focused on improving was the texture and getting that lovely thin, crackly topping that I find is often the sign of ‘good’ brownies. Through research and my own trial and error, I found that the best way to achieve the smooth, rich and fudgy texture, as well as the thin crackly topping, is to ensure that your sugars have dissolved and that the eggs are thoroughly mixed. The former is achieve through pouring hot, melted butter over the sugars, and whisking this together with the eggs for a good 9-11 minutes in total at least. You’re essentially making a meringue, which is what gives the topping its sheen and delicateness. I also found that giving the brownies sufficient time to chill after they’ve finished baking is what really ensures a beautiful, thick, fudgy texture. I do this by placing them in the fridge overnight before cutting.

It was hard for me to believe that I’d never shared a brownie recipe before now; I adore chocolate, and I have an intense appreciation for a good brownie. I was gluten free for about 5 years, and when I started eating gluten again about 6 or 7 years ago, I had so much fun bakery hopping and trying all the things that I’d spent so many years before just longingly looking at through windows. During this period, I went on a pursuit to taste as many brownies from different bakeries as I could, which lead on to my developing my own brownie recipe, taking what I’d learned from my taste testing of what I defined as ‘perfect’—very fudgy and definitely not cakey, with a glassy thin top and a dark, intense chocolate flavour.

Truth be told, if I’m having a chocolate dessert or treat, I usually like to go for straight up chocolate—an airy chocolate cake or something of the likes doesn’t satisfy a chocolate craving for me like something purely, unapologetically, indulgently chocolatey like a fudgy brownie does. However, with this brownie being as beautifully rich as it is, the tartness of the raspberries are such a welcomed addition, and the combination of chocolate and hazelnut is a firm favourite of mine and here they provide a lovely crunch and deep, earthy nuttiness. I added a touch of rye flour in addition to plain flour in this recipe to give a slightly deeper flavour, but you can just make up the total amount of flour with plain if you prefer or it is all that you have.