Peanut Butter Brownies

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 85g plain flour
• 200g smooth peanut butter
• 50g crunchy peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
• 250g caster sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt (for scattering, optional)
• 150g unsalted butter
• 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 40g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C / gas 6. Line a 23cm square tin with baking parchment, leaving a 2cm overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
2. Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the base doesn't touch the water. Add the dark chocolate and butter and melt gently, stirring now and then, for 4–5 minutes until glossy and smooth. Lift off the heat and stir in the caster sugar while still warm — the mixture will look grainy, that's right.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each until the batter turns thick, shiny and ribbons off the spoon. Sieve in the flour and cocoa and fold through with a spatula until just combined — no streaks of flour, but don't overwork it. Stir in the vanilla and espresso powder if using.
4. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into the lined tin and level the surface. Dollop tablespoons of peanut butter across the top, then drag a skewer through in figure-of-eight swirls to marble it into the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over to almost cover the swirl, leaving a few peanut butter ripples showing, and scatter over the chopped peanuts.
5. Bake for 22–25 minutes. The top should be set with a papery crackle, the edges pulling slightly from the tin, and the middle still showing a soft wobble. A skewer pushed into the centre should come out with moist, fudgy crumbs — never wet batter.
6. Cool completely in the tin, at least 1 hour, before lifting out by the parchment. Scatter with flaky sea salt and slice into 12 squares with a hot, dry knife for clean edges.