Chocolate brownies and Baileys parfait

Heres a little recipe for dessert that I tried for a friends (Vini and Sue) dinner party recently .

The rich chocolate and nut brownie needs something light to counter it, and the Baileys parfait works well (though maybe itself a bit rich too)

Anyway the details.

Chocolate and nut Sundae

Inspired by Jame Oliver's recipe

I halved the measurements since I have a morbid fear of making too much rich desserts.... Make a dish that seres 14.. then eating it all myself.. Not good... so I try to reduce the measurements instead.

100g butter (I used normal salted.. I think a bit of salt enchances the flavour desserts)
• 125g dark chocolate (70% ), broken up
• 80g chopped nuts (cashew and hazelnut)
• 30g cocoa powder, sifted
• 70g plain flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 180g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
100 ml cream (for extra moistness)

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Grease a 9 inch by 6 inch baking dish with butterg. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the nuts, and stir together. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and cream and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.