Rum and Raisin Chocolate Brownies

As thoughts are turning towards Christmas at home, I have always been aware that good old favourites Christmas cake and traditional pudding are not everyone’s choice on the special day. One of my favourite things to have with dark fruit cakes and Christmas pudding slices is a piece of rich mature cheddar, and a customer last week suggested I try Wensleydale with it too!

So last year I made a substitute for Christmas day dessert, Rum and Raisin Chocolate Brownies, and they went down a treat (with or without ice-cream, cream or Brandy butter). I must admit I still cooked a smaller Christmas pudding as I didn’t like to think of not having one, so had a double pudding with cream and it was pretty good too!

So here we are, the recipe for Rum and Flame Raisin Chocolate Brownies.

Baking tin: 3” depth x 16” x 25” inch or near

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Oven temperature 180 degrees

Ingredients:

·        1/2 cup Flame raisins*

·        2 tbsp dark rum

·        200g dark chocolate (vegan* if preferred)

·        125g butter (or vegan equivalent)

·        1 cup Coconut sugar or light Muscovado sugar*

·        1/3 cup light Olive oil

·        3 eggs (or vegan equivalent)

·        1 ½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste*

·        1/2 cup plain white flour*

·        1/2 tsp baking powder*

·        1/4 cup traditional Cocoa powder or Criolla Cacao powder*

·        icing sugar powder for dusting*

(*Available from SO Sustainable)

Method:

1. Soak Flame raisins in the rum for a good hour before setting the oven temperature at 180 degrees and grease or grease and line a square or rectangular baking pan.

2. Heat the butter and chocolate together until they are almost melted.

3. Stir in the sugar and the Olive oil.

4. Roughly beat the eggs and then whisk them with the Vanilla Bean Paste and add to chocolate mixture.

5. Then stir in the baking powder, Cocoa/Cacao powder and the flour.

6. Finally add the raisins and the rum to the mixture and do not over-stir.

7. Put mixture into the prepared baking tin.

8. Cook on 180 degrees for 40 minutes and check the sponge with a cocktail stick in the centre to make sure that it is cooked. There should still be a bit of stickiness to the cake.

9. Wait for the cake to cool and remove from tin.

10. Sprinkle with icing sugar from a sieve.

11. Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream and optional warm melted chocolate, or with thick cream and a dust of chocolate powder.

You may want seconds, so perhaps make two!

Mel x