On Thursday morning I got up at twenty past four to bake ginger chocolate brownies. Yes, utter madness, but in my busy schedule, this was literally the only time I had to bake. My colleagues had planned a retirement party for one our Looked After Children’s nurse, leaving the NHS after 42 years of service. The theme, a tea party , because appearenly she has a sweet tooth.

I found this recipe on line earlier this year and have made variations of it – all of which have been successful. They are fairly easy to make and so by five firty I had boxed them up ready to go into work and make their debut.

They were of course a small, but no less important, contribution to the magnificant spread put on by my colleagues.

Ingredients

113g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
75g dark chocolate, broken into squares
200g caster sugar
95 g plain flour
2 eggs
1 tsp fresh root ginger, grated
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a 20cm square baking tin

2. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a medium sized saucepan over a low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

3. Add all the other ingredients and stir until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake until set – about 30 minutes.

5. Cool in the pan, and then cut into 16 squares.