The Best Ever Chocolate Brownies!

These Chocolate Brownies have been tried and tested... many times!  I adore this recipe so much, it was even entered into an amateur brownie competition and it won with flying colours!!  

Cooking Time: 45 - 50 mins
Preperation Time: 20 mins
Serves: 12 - 15

Ingrediants:
 - 200 grams butter
 - 200 grams plain chocolate
 - 600 grams caster sugar (or 500grams if you want to bluff yourself about living more healthily... )
 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
 - 4 eggs -- large
 - 250 grams plain flour
 - 4 tablespoons cocoa

Method:
1)  Preheat oven to 180C, Gas 4

2)  Prepare a small rectangular roasting tin or oven proof dish approximately 8 x 12" (20 x 30cm). Grease or line with baking paper.

3)  Melt the chopped butter and chocolate over a pan of simmering water OR in a microwave. Cool slightly.

4)  Stir in the sugar and vanilla.

5)  Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring until well blended each time.

6)  Sift the flour and cocoa together, add to the mixture and beat for about 1 minute, until smooth.

7)  Pour into prepared tin, and bake for about 45 - 50 minutes. The mixture needs to be just cooked, so start testing with a cocktail stick at about 40 minutes - it should have moist crumbs, but not wet batter, still clinging to it.

8)  Cool in tin until completely cold before removing from tin.

I cut this size into 24 pieces (8 x 3), but it could easily make more smaller pieces as it is rather rich. Alternatively, you can make a half quantiity and bake in a 7 x 7" tin for about 40 minutes (test after 35 min)