Bottom Brownie Baileys Bites

Hello my darlings bees! I know, I know… what have I been doing, you may be asking? Well truth be told with my kitchen still having her face lift (yes still… you can’t rush perfection).     Quality over quantity, my bees, remember that!

We are doing 80% of it ourselves, and sadly this lady of the house has no people to help her. I may add a link here for when she is finally all done, for those that would like to check it out. I’m also the proud patron of The Cake Initiative - a charity for parents who can’t afford birthday cakes for their kids. Please check them out!

Now… on to my latest bake:

I wanted to make a brownie, but with some pizazz, of course. As I am a one of the judges for Cake Initiative’s upcoming competition, I thought it was only right do my own take on the classic Brownies. I used my Nana L’queur Brownie, recipe but with a little bit of moi.

What do I need?

• 80g Cocoa Powder
• 175g All Purpose Flour
• 11 tsp Unsalted Butter (melted)
• 2oz Van Gogh Espresso Vodka (or similar, optional)

          - or -

• 2oz Coffee
• 75g (approx 4 squares) High Quality Dark Chocolate
• 3 Eggs (room temperature)
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 Salt
• 1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

What do I do?

1 First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2 Now grease a 9”x13” baking pan (I’m actually using 9 by 9 for a deeper brownie)

3 Now sift your cocoa and baking soda into a large bowl and combine.

4 Melt ⅔ cup of butter over low heat on the stove (or melt butter in the microwave). With a wooden spoon, stir 1/2 the melted butter into the cocoa & baking soda until combined.

5 Add your 2oz Espresso Vodka or Coffee into the bowl with your cocoa and butter, and stir until combined.

6 Add the sugar, eggs and the remaining melted butter to the cocoa mixture. Stir until combined.

7 Sift in your flour - in 3 parts - stirring in between each until combined and smooth, then pop  in your vanilla, salt, and 4 squares of melted chocolate.

8 Now add the dark chocolate chips to your batter, and stir until combined.

9 Pour into your prepared baking pan and smooth the top out with the back of a spoon. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes - mine took 35 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness.

10 When done, pop out the oven (watch your pinkies), and allow to cool before you move on to your next step.

11 When cool, pop out the pan then cut to size (you can stop here if you prefer, or continue to add a chocolate & Baileys topping).

If you want even more chocolatey goodness, continue to the next step…

What do I need?

• 1-2 Tsp Baileys
• 1-2 Tsp Chocolate Liqueur
• 2-3 114g Bars of Chocolate (melted, good quality. I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet)
• Shaved chocolate/gold edible leaf (for decoration)

What do I do?

1 Break up your chocolate into a heatproof bowl, then pop in your microowave for 1 minute.  Check, and continue to do microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in-between with a wooden spoon. Once melted carefully take out of the microwave and leave to one side

2 Now use a toothpick to prick your brownie 20-30 times, then brush over your Baileys/Chocolate L’queur. Use the back of a spoon to spread across your brownie. Let it soak in, then  carefully pour your melted chocolate over and spread evenly.

3 While the chocolate sets, you can now add what ever takes your fancy. I adding chocolate shavings, and some edible gold leaf (because i’m a classy lady).

4 Once set, pop out the pan and proceed to cut into even squares. Enjoy! I cut mine into 9 pieces, but you can cut them smaller into 18 bite size pieces.

These are chocolate-coffee heaven. Pure indulgence for all you chocolate lovers.

​Tips, Tricks & Tiaras

• My darlings, try not to remove your brownie from the pan until completely cooled. Doing so could result in all your hard work being undone, and breaking up into a bunch of pieces. We do not want that (unless you’re trying to make brownie crumble, that is).
• Once the brownie has cooled in the pan, be sure to gently loosen around the edge of your pan. You should then be able to easily flip the brownie out of the pan. Also, you’ll get a much cleaner cut.
• If you happen to try this recipe, my darlings, please tag little old me on the socials, and feel free to leave a comment. Also check out my other recipes and YouTube channel. Those who bake together, rise together.
• You don’t have to add the alcohol. You can skip that part, and carry on adding the melted  chocolate.