Baking for Nightshift- Delice au Chocolat Brownies

I can almost hear the groaning of 'not another brownie recipe' and one that looks like a basic chocolate cake too! However do NOT underestimate the total deliciousness of this brownie. I got the recipe when a mum brought a piece for the other mums (that was me too) who were sitting nervously waiting while our babies were in their Grade 2 ballet exam. At first I declined it as I had just had a yummy muffin for my breakfast, but she insisted I give it a try telling me it was pretty good...and OMG it really was. The texture is really like a mousse cake and when you see the recipe you can see why. 

When I woke from my very busy nightshift yesterday I thought that we would deserve a treat if my next night ended up being as frantic as the previous one, so whipped this up before work that night. This would make a wonderful dessert as it really tastes more like a dessert cake than a cakey brownie. Trust me when I say to try this recipe because I know you will not be disappointed and while you might curse me for the calorie load, the flavour and texture will make it all worthwhile.

Delice au Chocolat Brownies

250 g dark chocolate (I used Whittakers dark 62% but the recipe giver uses 72%)

175 g unsalted butter (I used salted)

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

4 eggs separated

125 g cream fraiche (I used sour cream)

2 tbsp of flour or ground almonds

Pinch salt (I omitted this as I used salted butter)

Icing sugar to decorate

Preheat oven 150 C. Grease 20cm square baking tin (the recipe said a 23cm tin but I liked the height the smaller tin gave me). 

Melt chocolate and butter in pot. In separate bowl beat sifted icing sugar, egg yolks and vanilla essence till mixture turns white and creamy. Add the melted chocolate and butter and beat. Add cream fraiche then fold in the flour or almonds ground. Beat eggs whites with pinch of salt till stiff. Fold delicately into chocolate mixture. 

Pour into tin and bake 35mins. Cool in tin and put into the fridge for about 4hrs. Cut into squares but rinse the knife with hot water in between slices to keep them neat. Dust with icing sugar and indulge.