Is that a Chocolate Brownie or a Lekto Night Briquette?

Is that a Chocolate Brownie or a Lekto Night Briquette?

Since the day we created Lekto Night Briquettes, we get emails and comments daily asking us if they are chocolate brownies and whether they are safe to eat.

Jokingly, I would answer 'they are 100% natural and vegan' but just to clarify, they are not for consumption. They might have a resemblance of a chocolate brownie, but they are made using pure, softwood bark. To satisfy your sweet craving, however, here is a quick and easy chocolate brownie recipe. 

This Chocolate Brownie recipe can be used when baking in a pizza oven or cookstove as well as electric fan oven (temperature might need adjustment).

When using a pizza oven or cookstove, remember to preheat your burner to 200C. Use Lekto Hardwood Heat Logs or Sawdust Briquettes for best result. The compressed hardwood in these heat logs means they are extremely easy to light and will reach a high temperer in matter minutes. If you decide to use Hardwood Heat Logs for the first time, use only half a log or cut them in even smaller pieces as they give out a lot of heat and expand. You don't want to overload your burner.

Chocolate Brownie Ingredients

  • 200g dark or milk chocolate, depending how sweet do you like them
  • 90g butter
  • 3 free-range eggs
  • 160g caster sugar
  • 40g dark cocoa
  • 85g hazelnuts/ almonds/ walnuts/macadamia nuts. 

If you are allergic to nuts or simply do not wish to have them in your brownie, you can replace them with dried fruit or leave them out altogether.

Equipment

  • 20x12cm roasting tin lined with baking parchment
  • Small pan for toasting nuts (optional)
  • Large Bowl

Step-By-Step Chocolate Brownie Recipe

  • Put the hazelnuts in the small pan and toast in the oven until aromatic and golden brown. Take them out of the pan and roughly chop with a large knife.
  • Melt the butter and chocolate in a pan in the oven.
  • Mix the sugar and cocoa in a large bowl with the hazelnuts and add the chocolatey buttery mixture.
  • Beat the eggs just until they are broken up and mix everything together.

Pour your chocolate brownie batter into the roasting tin. Use a spatula to get everything out from the side of the bowl.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the top is firm but underneath is still gooey. Baking in a wood-fired oven will take less time as the temperer is hotter than in an electric fan oven so check every 5 minutes on their readiness level.

To check whether they’re ready, stick the blade of a knife or a toothpick into your chocolate brownies. If it comes out clean then it means they are ready, if it doesn’t then leave them a little longer. If you want your brownies to be a bit gooier, you won’t want the knife or toothpick to come out completely clean. 

Leave in the tin to cool down and chill in the fridge before cutting into squares or serve still slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on aside. You can decorate with fresh raspberries for a pop of colour.

Top Tips 

If you butter the sides and bottom of your skillet and dust them over with bread crumbs your brownie will not stick, once turned upside down it will slide out easily from the skillet.

I hope you liked this chocolate brownie recipe. You can store your brownies in a sealed box and keep them for a week or freeze them for up to 2 months. Now, the next time you see Lekto Night Briquettes and are overcome with a taste for brownies, there will be on the stand to satisfy your sweet cravings.