… I couldn’t sleep last night… for many reasons but mostly because i’d bought the wrong kind of butter for the brownies I was making for mums birthday… it sounds a bit daft now but I just couldn’t lie there any more thinking about the salted butter and how, if I could just teleport to the supermarket to get the unsalted butter everything would be perfect and our day would run really smoothly… I know…
… it’s become a tradition that we all go to the beach on mum’s birthday and with the British weather the way it’s been I was fearing that we just weren’t going to make it this year… but as if by magic the sun came out over the weekend with promise of a few days of glorious sunshine and so yes, we actually made it… I cannot begin to describe how wonderful it was to be sitting on a British beach in, what eventually became too hot sun… we had champagne… we had tinned salmon sandwiches… we had tooth-achingly tart/sweet blackcurrant brownies…
blackcurrant brownies
this is adapted from a Dan Lepard recipe for pecan brownies which i’ve replaced with blackcurrants which as you can imagine hold a lot of liquid so the cooking times for you may vary… keep checking…
200g dark chocolate
125g unsalted butter
2 eggs
125g light soft brown sugar
100g caster sugar
175g plain flour
1 tablespoon cocoa
200g blackcurrants
– put the chocolate and the butter in a pan and gently melt
– beat the eggs with the sugars until pale then add the chocolate and butter and beat again
– sieve the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture and stir in until fully combined
– add the black currants and stir a couple of times
– pour into a lined brownie tray and bake on 170C for about 35 minutes but check as the currants hold a lot of liquid and it’s hard to tell…
i’m entering this into choclette from Chocolate Log Blog’s We Should Cocoa bloggers challenge which has the theme of blackcurrants… at first I thought this would be a bit of an annoying challenge but let me tell you ladies and gentlemen, the sweet, sour, chocolatey wonderfulness of these beauties was outstanding.. well done choclette!
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Happy Birthday to your mom!
I love our Rockies, but sometimes I wish we also had a beach close. Especially one where your brownies are served!
Sorry you bought the wrong butter. I never buy salted butter, since I add the salt separately to control our intake.
Yum! Happy birthday to your Mum. I'm thinking she's going to have a delicious celebration.
Best,
Bonnie
Sounds divine!
My better half just will not mix fruit and chocolate, which means that if I make these, I won't even have to share. Happy days 🙂
H.A.P.P.Y. to your Mother!
You – on a beach? Please, please tell me that you didn't wear a skimpy white bikini, sing “Underneath the mango tree” and do your notorious Ursula Andress/Honey Ryder impersonation again!
They look wonderful,good combination, did you get more butter? (I make mine with salted butter!) Only the best for our mums right! Hope she had a special day. Love the blog!
Ivan 🙂
You know, I use salted butter all the time when baking, I can't say it makes any difference. Just don't add the salt that many recipes suggest.
An annoying challenge? I'm all affronted now! You might have seen me storming away from the beach. But clutching a piece of that divine looking blackcurrant brownie all the same.
Glad you got to celebrate your mum's birthday in style and thanks for playing along with WSC – however reluctantly.
So glad you finally snagged some sun, even if it was a little too much. These brownies sounds very sophisticated with the mingling of black current and dark chocolate—just think of all those anti-oxidants!
These look good enough to (almost) convince me that dark chocolate and blackcurrants work together. I haven't seen any fresh blackcurrants in this area though!
OMG! Need to make these right now!
I love these and was surprised by just how well blackcurrants work with chocolate. I hope your mum enjoyed them on her birthday. Bet they are wonderful, especially with a nice cold glass of champagne! x
What delicious brownies, your lucky Mum, it sounds like you had a fabulous meal, I hope there wasn't too much sand in your sandwiches.
I've occasionally bought the 'wriong' butter and used it with no problem. And here in Brittany I deliberately buy butter with sea salt crystals as a special treat, perfect with bread and jam.
Fist of all Happy birthday to your mum…Than…lucky boy on the beach!
Never heard this recipe, but I do love brownies I should give it a go.
Have a nice day
Sunny, warm beach plus delicious chocolatey brownies plus a birthday celebration for mom… doesn't get much better than that!
They look wonderful Dom and a little bit of salt goes well with chocolate 🙂
I love the idea of adding blackcurrants – wonderful – so glad the sun came out for mum's birthday!
Mary x
These look cocoa wonderful! Have a great time at the beach. Happy birthday Mum!
Ohhhh, what' I would do for a slice of this now. Looks sooooo scrummy I be worried about eating the whole lot. Glad the sun came out for you and your mum. X
SNAP! I discovered how LUSH blackcurrants go with chocolate and your brownies looks JUST amazing! As for salted butter re unsalted butter, I PREFER salted butter in some bakes, it's the salted caramel kind of thing…..LOOKS like a LOVELY day out Dom! Karen xxx
This looks divine! Good luck with the competition 🙂 x
Fabulous brownies…I love the addition of the blackcurrants! I was on the beach yesterday too…it was glorious! 🙂
Just heard about your win with Capricorn cheeses. Many congratulations! I hope the prize is ample recognition of your considerable efforts towards popularising their worthy products…
Happy birthday to your mum and the brownies sound delicious. Excellent idea to sneak in some fruit!
Fantastic brownies Dom! Glad you and your mom had a wonderful time at the beach… you know, at beach enjoying the sun, champagne and brownies… heaven, I say 🙂
Happy birthday to your mum! I think it's a lovely tradition to go to the beach. These brownies look amazing!!
Tinned salmon sandwiches, champagne and excellent brownies on a beach. That's just heaven. I've got to hand it to you – you've got style.
Oh, and Happy Birthday to your mum, of course.
I agree with Phil – what could be better! Just my style!
hello Dom 😀
Thank you for posting the blackcurrant beach brownies recipe.
I’ve been looking for this recipe since forever! LOL. 😀
I’d like to invite you to submit the pictures of your blackcurrant beach brownies to Food Photography so other chefs can make the same creation. 🙂
You know it’s fun to make others hungry. 😀
Can’t wait for your recipe. 😀
Wow Dom – these brownies are gorgeous and so gooey. I love how they're studded all throughout with chunks of cherry – somehow that makes them so much more appealing than just regular brownies… I've had plenty of nights recently where I can't fall asleep due to ingredients – although typically it's because I'm trying to arrange them in my head into a recipe…
Sun, beach, brownies and family. It doesn't get any better that that. The brownies look delicious with the blackcurrants adding a little extra special something.
They look great and I'm very envious of you making it to a beach during the only bit of summer we've had recently.
Great recipe for great times!
The brownies look fab. Surprising how amazing chocolate and blackcurrants go together. Eating Brownies on the beach under the sun sounds wonderful.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes – yes it was a perfect day – the brownies were delicious & I didn't even know about Dom's dilemma with the butter! xx