Inspired by the moistness of the Middle Eastern Blood Orange cake that eschewed flour in favour of almond meal, I combined a recipe of Nigella’s for Flourless Chocolate Brownies and an idea from Tessa Kiros’s Apples from Jam . With strawberries being plentiful now, I had two punnets of gorgeously huge and sweet berries. I love strawberries and whipped cream, in fact it’s my favourite way of eating them, but this can really only be improved with the addition of chocolate in its gooeyest form.
Brownies are never going to qualify as a health food, the number of eggs and weight of sugar and butter would effectively muzzle any such claims but there is nothing quite like that gorgeous moistness and quivering inner. And this brownie recipe is the Queen of Quiver. That is to mean that it is also a little more delicate than a sturdier less quiver-prone brownie but the reward is in the texture. Yes it is a downright pain to arrange into place but the grateful glances and moans of appreciation will help ease any plating traumas past.
Flourless Chocolate Brownies with chocolate sauce
- 220g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 220g butter
- 150g ground almonds
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 100g chopped walnuts or brazil nuts
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 punnet of strawberries, rinsed and hulled and halved
- 1/2 lot of Chocolate sauce (see below)
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat in a heavy-based saucepan or in a microwave on medium heat watching like a hawk. Once melted, take off the heat and mix in the vanilla and sugar, and let it cool a little.
2. Beat the eggs into the mixture along with the ground almonds and chopped walnuts. Turn into a greased and lined baking tin, a 24×24 square one is specified but I used a longer 22×30cms one as I wanted a rectangular sandwich cake although a slightly smaller one might have been better.
3. Bake batter in the oven for 35-40 minutes, so that the top has set but the mixture will still be gooey. Now comes the hard part, waiting til its cool so that it’s sturdier, cut in half down the middle if making a large sandwich cake, or cut into squares if making individual sandwich cakes.
4. Carefully and gingerly move it onto a serving plate and top the half with halved strawberries and then cream. I piped it but you needn’t do that, just dolloping the cream in between berries will do. Then, ever so carefully lift the other half of the brownie on top. Drizzle Chocolate sauce over the top and have a forks and plates at the ready, people will be restless and demanding of a slice.
Hot Chocolate Sauce
This will make you double what you need for the sandwich cake so you can either halve the quantity of use the rest for ice cream or in a hot chocolate. Either way you’ll be happy.
- 75g dark chocolate
- 125ml double cream
- 15ml or 1 tablespoon golden syrup
1. Melt chocolate and double cream until smooth, stir in golden syrup and stir until well combined.
Recipe adapted from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson
This is also my entry to Meeta’s from What’s for lunch honey?’s Fruit and Chocolate Monthly Mingle 
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18 Comments | Add your own
Holy sweet line dancing Jeebus.
My left arm is tingling just looking at that monstrosity, that delicious, inviting, beautiful monstrosity.
It’s food like this that made Nigella the voluptuous vixen of my dreams.
I think the chaps at work would like that as much as my spiced apple cake last week. They are reaping the benefit of my inability to eat any decent amount of food these days…
there’s something about texture of melted chocolate on top of your sandwich cake that makes it great to just oogle at…added to the ‘to-do’ list
*drool* I absolutely shouldn’t have clicked before bedtime. Best case scenario: I dream of chocolate brownies all night. Worse case scenario: I wind up baking at 4am to stop my tummy rumbling!
Sensational cake, Lorraine! Truly food porn!!
Ohmygod! I seem to say that a lot when I look at your blog.That truly is spectacular.
That’s just mean…. I really didn’t want to make much more brownies cos I’m getting pudgey but…. *drool*
What decadence! I can imagine it to be moorish too! I need one of those when I have had a rough day and need a little comfort food. If only calories didn’t matter…
oh my goodness. this is definitely the most sinful thing i’ve seen all week, and i love it. i must never make this for fear that i’d eat it all and make myself sick.
Are you serious, darling?? This is just too sinful!
I used to dislike the term “food porn,” thinking it was non-descriptive and silly. Ha. Now I can see how that phrase came about.
After viewing the first photo in this post, I feel naughty for lusting after this dessert. This is food porn at its finest. I want it framed and hanging in my house!
Really like your blog.
Have to disagree that eggs are unhealthy though, as you hint.
Sugar, I believe, is the real danger.
Anyway, keep up the good work!
Hi Uncle Hunty-Yes only Nigella could pair flourless chocolate brownies with chocolate sauce but I have to say that I loved Tessa Kiros’ idea of a strawberry brownie sandwich
Oh no, you can’t eat much food nowadays? 
Hi D-It does feel quite food pornish, the quiver of the brownie, the drip of icing. All part of the fun really!
Hi Angela-I do that to myself too when all of you guys come online it’s bedtime for me so I end up having lovely food dreams
Hi Reemski-Thanks so much darling!
Hi FFichiban-Sorry I didn’t mean to be mean
You could always do the Jessica Seinfeld Spinach and carrot brownies? 
Hi Maria-Definitely moreish
As soon as the photos were done I had the fork digging away transporting from plate to fork to mouth quickly 
Hi grace-something sinful is the order of the day
Hi Patricia-Sinning is good when it tastes like this
Hi Sandie-Hehe I’ve always loved the term, because it describes how I just drool after food
So in a way I always strive to make food porn-call me a food pornographer. Perhaps I’ll start a magazine called “Playfood”? 
Hi Sve-Well yes but the sum total of all of that isn’t quite low fat
Thanks so much! 
what are you doing to me woman!! I’m trying to be healthy and I see something that this… omigod I will so be trying this!!
x
oh my, This looks like a chocolatey, strawberry delight… yummmmmmm all gooey-licious….
Ali
Hi Iron Chef Shellie-Hehe sorry!
But it’s worth breaking the health kick for!
Hi pea & pear-Gooey or gooey-licious is definitely the word to describe it
amazing! this is so lovely and i am glad you made this mingle - with this there was no way i’d turn you away
thanks!
Hi Meeta-Thanks for hosting the event, I can’t wait to see the entries!
oh, i am so jealous you got to eat this. it’s all my favourite things bundled up together. i want some nooooooooow!
Hi Anna-Hehe it’s a good time for strawberries now so perhaps this might be a good idea for weekend baking?
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