Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

• 50 grams dark chocolate, broken into chunks or coarsely chopped

• 1 tsp raw cacao nibs (optional)

• Pinch or two of salt

Makes an 8-inch square pan.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8-inch square pan.

2. Add oil, sugar, and eggs to a large bowl and mix well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

5. Fold in chocolate pieces.

6. Spread batter into prepared pan and sprinkle raw cacao nibs on top (if using).

7. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with just a few crumbs.

8. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top.

9. Let cool completely, cut into pieces, and enjoy.

Notes:

• I’ve been using avocado oil, but any neutral tasting vegetable oil will work. I initially tried a few variations with butter, but oil makes the recipe more moist.

• Instead of topping the brownies with cacao nibs, you could used chopped walnuts.

• For the salt in the batter, I use whatever cooking salt I have on hand; for the salt on top, I like to use the fanciest salt I have. For the brownies in the image, I used black sea salt from Hawaii.

• I don’t have a square pan so I make this recipe using an 8-inch round pan and bake the brownies for about 20-23 minutes. The bake time will be slightly longer with an 8-inch square pan.