Paul A. Young’s cherry syrup brownies

Portion size: Makes 8-10 brownies
Hands-on time 20 min, plus cooling and chilling. Oven time 30 min.
Difficulty: easy

Recipe by: Paul A Young

Chocolatier Paul A. Young uses cherry syrup in his brownies recipe, so the cherry flavour is baked right in. Serve with cherries and vanilla ice cream for an easy showstopper dessert.

There’s no such thing as too many brownies. Paul has also created a Christmas brownies recipe for us.

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Ingredients

400g jar marasca maraschino cherries in syrup (we used the Hotel Starlino brand)
100g unsalted butter
250g unrefined golden caster sugar
275g dark chocolate (60-65% cocoa solids), plus extra, grated, to serve
4 medium free-range eggs
70g plain flour

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Method

Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. Line the baking tin with baking paper. Strain the cherries in a sieve, keeping all the syrup. Set the cherries aside until ready to serve. Put the butter in a small pan over a low heat with 75ml of the reserved syrup and the sugar; heat until the mixture just starts to bubble.
Take the mixture off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted. Let the mixture cool a little, then add the eggs and mix in well with a wooden spoon. Add the flour and mix until no flour is visible, but don’t over-mix.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared tin and level it off. Drizzle another 50ml of the reserved cherry syrup over the top.
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Bake the brownies in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes – they should still have a distinct wobble in the middle (see Know How). Leave to cool in the tin, then chill for 2 hours before cutting with a hot wet knife.
Warm the brownies through and serve with extra cherry syrup, vanilla ice cream, the drained maraschino cherries and a grating of dark chocolate.

Nutrition

405kcals Calories
18.2g (10.5g saturated) Fat
5.4g Protein
54.1g (48.5g sugars) Carbs
1.5g Fibre
0.1g Salt

Quick wins & tips

This recipe is also amazing with some of the cherries chopped and gently mixed into the batter before baking – if you do that, give the brownies an extra 5 minutes in the oven.

If you love cherry bakewell, sprinkle flaked almonds over the brownies along with the syrup before baking. The almonds give a fantastic bakewell-tart vibe.

Make Ahead

The brownies will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days – or wrap them well and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature.

Cook smarter

The brownies will be quite wobbly when you first take them out of the oven but will firm up as they cool. Don’t be tempted to put them back in or they’ll overbake.