Candy Cane Brownies with After Eight centres
Decadently rich, dense and fudgy, these festive Candy Cane Brownies with an After Eight centre embrace the season with an easy & fun style. They are sure to please chocolate lovers of all ages.
Servings: 12
Calories: 302kcal
Ingredients
- 120 g Butter (unsalted) (½ cup/ 4 ¼ oz)
- 170 g Dark chocolate (1 cup/ 6 oz)
- 100 g White sugar (½ cup / 3 ½ oz)
- 110 g g Dark Muscovado sugar (½ cup/ 4oz)
- 2 Eggs (large, free-range)
- 2 Egg yolks (large, free-range)
- ½ teaspoon Peppermint extract
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 120 g Plain (all-purpose) flour (1 cup/ 4 ¼ oz)
- 10 After Eight mints or other peppermint fondant chocolates
Decoration
- 30 g White chocolate (1 oz)
- 30 g 1 peppermint candy cane (approx 30g/ 1 oz)
Instructions
Make the Brownies
- Preheat (fan) oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM4 and line a 7x 7-inch baking tin with butter and parchment
- Weigh out the sugar and break down any lumps in the muscovado sugar using your fingers
- Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bain marie
- Stir in the sugars then add the eggs & yolks and beat to just combine using a handheld balloon whisk
- Stir in the peppermint extract
- Sieve the flour and salt into the batter and mix until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain
- Pour half of the batter into the tin. Cut each After Eight mint in half and lay over the batter (try to visualise how the squares will be cut and aim for a piece in the centre of each cut square)
- Cover with the remaining batter and bake for 22 minutes
- Test with a toothpick - insert it into the centre of the brownie - if raw batter is evident on the stick continue to back for another 2-3 minutes and test again. Continue until the toothpick comes out with no raw batter clinging to it
- Take the tin out of the oven and let the brownie cool completely in the tin
Decorate the Brownies
- unwrap the candy cane, snap into pieces and then use either a pestle and mortar or the end of a rolling pin to crush it into small chunks
- Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over the brownie - use a small knife to do this (or pipe for a neater finish)
- Quicky top with the candy cane chunks - take time to put the colourful side of larger pieces facing upwards and then scatter any smaller chunks over more randomly at the end
- Before the chocolate sets, cut into 12 pieces and leave to set
- Stores for 2-3 days in an airtight container
Notes
- Make sure that you will be happy with the fudgy nature of these brownies. If you prefer a light, cakey brownie, then in all honesty, this recipe is probably not for you. For more details on types of brownie (fudgy, cakey or chewy) head over to my post for Mini Egg brownies
- Always line your baking tin, even if it is labelled as non-stick. Using baking parchment will make it so much easier to remove the brownies from the tin without breaking them
- My cooking time for these After Eight brownies creates a soft, squidgy and fudgy bake. Extending the cooking time for a few more minutes will result in a slightly firmer bake
- Nevertheless, since all ovens vary slightly and brownies are notoriously tricky to cook to perfection, check the bake 5 minutes before the end of the listed cooking time. I’d hate for you to accidentally overbake these beauties
- If things go wrong and you end up with overbaked brownies, use them in trifles, ice cream sundaes or make truffles out of them
Nutrition
Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 131mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg