Chocolate chilli marshmallow brownies

I made these brownies the other day and haven't been able to stop craving them ever since, which is not good for my waist! The heat of the chilli is not particularly noticeable at first bite but you will notice the warmth as it goes down. If you are not sure about the chilli factor I suggest you reduce the quantity a little.

• 150g salted butter, cut into dice
• 150g dark chilli chocolate (with 60 – 70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped into small bits (or use dark choc and add 3/4 tsp ancho chilli powder preferably or 1/2 tsp chipotle and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper)125g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon good quality cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 225g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100g mini marshmallows, or roughly chopped full size ones

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Butter a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) square baking dish or pan and line with a enough baking paper or foil to leave a bit of overhang on either side. This is so you can easily lift out the brownies afterwards using the overhang as handles.
3. In a small saucepan, gently melt the butter and dark chocolate together over a very low heat, constantly stirring till just melted. Leave to cool a little.
4. While the chocolate mixture is cooling, mix together the plain flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
5. Beat the eggs with the vanilla extract and caster sugar in large bowl until fairly smooth.
6. When the chocolate mixture is just warm to the touch, pour it into the eggs and sugar and mix well.
7. Add the flour mixture and mix thoroughly, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl well to blend any pockets of flour.
8. Tumble in all the marshmallows and roughly mix.
9. Pour and scrape the brownie batter into the prepared baking dish, spreading it to the corners. Don’t worry if the marshmallows aren’t evenly distributed.
10. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through.
11. The brownies are ready when the batter is set, crackly and shiny on top. A skewer/toothpick poked into the outer third of the brownie should come out clean or with a moist crumb, while the very middle should be quite wet.

You can bake them for a few minutes more if you don’t like your brownies to be too gooey, but at this stage the brownies shouldn’t be done all the way through or it’ll just be chocolate cake when it’s completely cooled.

When the brownies are ready, immediately take them out of the oven and leave them cool completely on a rack. Cut into 9 large pieces or 12 smaller ones, bearing in mind that these brownies are very rich.

Refrigerate any leftover brownies in a container, wrapped in their baking paper or foil. Eat within 1 week ( like that will be a problem?!)