Liquorsmiths Negroni Brownies
Rich and decadent, these brownies are an indulgent fusion between dark chocolate and the beautiful bitter sweetness of a Negroni. A cocktail in your dessert? Have your cake and eat it.
Equipment
- 23cm square baking tin
- Tin large enough to sit the 23cm square tin inside
Ingredients
- 50 ml Old Tom 6 gin
- 25 ml sweet vermouth
- 25 ml red bitters of Campari
- 100 g dried cranberries
- 200 g dark chocolate 70% cocoa works well
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 whole egg yolks
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 250 g caster sugar
- 70 g plain flour
- 70 g cocoa powder
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
- The night before, or at least a good few hours before, make yourself a Negroni by stirring together the gin, vermouth and red bitters. Submerge the dried cranberries to soak and cover for the night. I must confess, I actually doubled up (50ml of each) to make my brownies really boozy. You could do this, or you could double up, use half for the cranberries and half for yourself, if you so desire.
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line the tin with greaseproof paper.
- Melt the chocolate. You can break the chocolate into pieces and sit it in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. The bowl shouldn't touch the water. Once the chocolate has melted remove the bowl. Or, like me, you can cheat and put the chocolate in a bowl, pop that in the microwave and zap it for a minute, then 20 second intervals.
- Beat the eggs and yolks in a jug and pop to one side. Beat the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy then gradually add the egg as you keep beating. Sometimes this can curdle, and if you're nervous about this you can add a spoonful of flour with each glug of the mixed egg. Once all the egg has been added, the mixture needs to be beaten vigorously until it has a glossy sheen and has grown in volume. An electric mixer is really helpful at this point if you have one.
- Carefully fold in the melted chocolate with a metal spoon. Then, sift any remaining flour into the bowl with the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Fold this into the mixture too. Then, pour in the soaked cranberries, along with any leftover Negroni. Fold again.
- Spread the mixture evenly over the base of the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, which gives you just enough time to kick back and enjoy a Negroni. Test it early with a skewer or knife. It should be sticky, but not completely wet. If your test comes out clean, they are overcooked. If this happens then you can salvage them by making a Negroni, drinking half and pouring the other half over the brownies. Top tip!
- Fill your larger dish with ice and cold water and sit the brownie tin in it. This is a neat trick that helps the brownies to cool faster and prevents them from continuing to cook. When they are cool, slice into squares and store in an airtight container.
Notes
This recipe is my attempt at Negroni brownies from the Liquorsmiths Cookbook. I've listed the recipe details as stated in the book, and have noted any tweaks I have made.