* Mocha Brownies

I've not cooked these luscious brownies in FOREVER... simply because if I made them whilst Neil was at work - I'd eat the lot before he came home. He'd walk in the door and say "Ooooh, something baking?" and I'd have to lie and say "Nooooooo! I bought some food scented candles. Good aren't they?" Whilst surreptitiously swiping my hands across the work surfaces, checking for stray brownie crumbs... and licking the palms of my hands if I found some.

I'm really not very good at telling myself "No". It's like I have a panic button that says if I don't eat it all now, I may never eat it again. So there's some stuff that I have stopped cooking over the years - in case I end up actually living the *Thin Mint* scene from Monty Python's Meaning of Life... "Eeessa waffer theen!"

KABOOM!

That said... I just had to. Just to see if I'd gained any control over my urge to consume these en mass. 

They've been sitting in their cake tin for the past couple of hours. 

There's drool EVERYWHERE!!!

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Mocha Brownies Recipe

Makes 9 - 12 brownies 

or ONE BIG ONE!

You will need

A sauce pan

A 23cm/9in square brownie pan - greased and base lined with baking parchment
A bowl and and an electric whisk

Ingredients

Base

250g granulates sugar

125g butter

30g cocoa powder

1tsp coffee granules

2 eggs

90g plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Frosting

3 tbsp butter - softened

20g cocoa powder

250g icing sugar - sifted

3 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 180c/155cfan/gas 4/350f

In the saucepan combine sugar, butter, cocoa powder and coffee granules. Cook over a medium heat until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before beating in the 2 eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix in thoroughly.

Pour into prepared baking tin. Cook for 20 minutes (10 - 15 minutes in a fan oven). Remove from oven and allow to cool in tin.

In a bowl, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy. Add the cocoa and then gradually add HALF of the icing sugar, beat well. Slowly add the milk and vanilla extract, beating all the while. Beat in the remaining icing sugar ( add a little more milk if necessary). Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies and cut into bars.

Or not. One brownie is fine. It doesn't have to be for sharing. Sharing is not always a good thing.