Rich, fudgy and gently spiced with cinnamon and chilli, these indulgent brownies from Zena Kamgaing's cookbook Dinner Time are the perfect cold-weather treat.
Chocolate brownies are always a good idea, but add a little cinnamon, a hint of chilli and nutty browned butter, and you've got something rather special. Taken from Zena Kamgaing's cookbook Dinner Time, these Mexican hot chocolate brownies are rich, fudgy and wonderfully warming, with a subtle kick that comes through after the first bite. Perfect with an afternoon coffee, as a weekend bake or served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
Makes 16
50g cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mild chilli powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
175g salted butter
3 large eggs
275g light brown soft sugar
75g caster sugar
100g plain flour
125g walnut halves and/or milk chocolate chips (optional but recommended)
Method
Place the cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, chilli powder and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over a medium heat. It will bubble for a few minutes. As the bubbles die down, the milk solids will sink to the bottom and turn brown as they caramelise. This should take around 10 minutes.
Once the butter is golden brown and smells nice and nutty, pour it into the cocoa mixture, making sure to scrape in any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk until the cocoa is fully dissolved, then leave the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Line a 20cm × 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
Using an electric hand mixer on high speed, in a bowl whisk the eggs and both sugars until light, fluffy and pale in colour.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cooled cocoa-butter mixture, then sift and fold in the flour until there are no streaks of flour left. If you're adding walnuts and/or chocolate chips, fold them in at this stage.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin, spreading it evenly. Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until the edges are set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out with a bit of brownie batter clinging to it.
Let the brownies cool in the tin until completely cold, then slice them into 16 equal squares. They'll keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks or in the freezer for a month.
Recipe extracted from Dinner Time by Zena Kamgaing (Bloomsbury Publishing, hardback, £22). Photography © Yuki Sugiura.
Dinner Time by Zena Kamgaing
Zena Kamgaing has become one of the most exciting new voices in modern home cooking, creating recipes that balance big flavour with everyday practicality. Her debut cookbook, Dinner Time, is packed with 85 recipes organised by the time you have available, from 15-minute midweek dinners to slower weekend cooking.
Whether you're feeding the family after work, cooking for friends or simply looking for fresh dinner inspiration, every recipe is designed to deliver maximum flavour with minimum fuss.