Maria, the lovely Californian lady who works as one of the managers of the Healthy Life Centre‘s rooms where I teach weekly Yoga classes, made these delicious brownies for a MacMillan charity event last year. What made the brownies so memorable was the tangy flavour and moistness of fresh raspberries. I asked her if she could teach me how to make them and she kindly invited me to bake at her kitchen. It was a fun day and I had the opportunity to get to know Maria more. She loves birds and they love her, we could see them flying outside the kitchen window. Apart from working as a manager at the HLC she is an artist (now we understand why there are always stunningly colourful flowers in the Yoga room). Her paintings have a fascinating dreamlike quality; you can see her work (and her world) here.

Back to the recipe, I strongly recommend to use the best quality dark chocolate you can find. Enjoy! Makes 8 chunky brownies

220 dark chocolate

125 butter chopped

40gr cocoa powder, sifted

200gr caster sugar

125g plain flour, sifted

1tsp baking powder 3 eggs beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract 200gr fresh raspberries

Icing sugar to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (355F) Grease and line a baking pan with baking paper.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and hold over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate mixture is smooth.
3. In a separated bowl combine the cocoa, sugar, flour and baking powder. Stir into the chocolate mixture and combine well.
4. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla extract and with an electric beater beat until the mixture thickens. Add the raspberries and gently fold through with a metal spoon.
5. Pour the sticky mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30mins or until set around the edges. The brownie should be spriny to touch but slightly wobbly in the centre.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 15-20 minutes. Lift the brownie out of the tin and transfer the board.
7. With a sieve, sprinkle with icing sugar. Cut into squares and serve warm.