Rodda’s Clotted Cream Brownie Pie

Method

Chocolate biscuit base part 1

1. Preheat the oven 150C 140C if using fan.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Leave it to cool slightly.
3. Whisk the flour(s), sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl until combined and there are no lumps.
4. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and whisk until combined and you have a moist crumb.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Every 10 minutes rotate the pan, break up the bigger lumps and mix it about a bit. Bake until you have a dry, crisp, but not burnt crumb. It will continue to dry after you have taken it out of the oven.
6. Leave too cool. You can prepare this in advance and store in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer.
7. (This should make enough for the base of the Brownie pie, plus extras for whatever you like. I sometimes add it into cookies or on top of banana bread)

Chocolate biscuit base part 2

1. Put 260g of the chocolate biscuit base mix from part 1 into a blender and add the sugar and salt. Blitz into a fine sandy crumb.
2. Add the melted butter and blitz again until combined. You will have a moist sandy crumb, similar to that of a cheesecake base.
3. Tip this into your prepared pie or tart dish and firmly press into an even layer. If you have enough you can put it up the sides of the dish, but this is not necessary.
4. Place this in the fridge or freezer to firm.

Brownie Filling

1. Preheat the oven 180C/170C if using fan.
2. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Create a double boiler by filling a small pan with 1.5cm of boiling water and placing the heatproof bowl onto the top of the pan so that it is above the water but not touching. Gently heat the pan so that the steam melts the chocolate and butter. Stir until combined and smooth. Remove from heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk. Keep mixing until they are fluffy, pale and has reached ‘ribbon’ state. This should take 4-5 minutes. (Google ribbon state if you are confused)
4. Take a spatula or mixing spoon and slowly add in the chocolate mixture, mixing slowly to begin with and then a little faster until it is completely combined.
5. Add the Rodda’s clotted cream and fold in until completely combined.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.
7. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in 3 additions folding it in each time until combined.
8. Pour the brownie filling into the pie/tart dish. Wiggle it about until it is level.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The sides should puff up a little and there should be a crust over the top. If it is still liquid in the middle, bake for another few minutes until the crust has formed.
10. Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing (if you can resist).