Chopped Chocolate in Bacon Brownies

Asked by Miffffy. Answered on 22nd February 2015

Full question

Hi, I am going to try baking Nigella's Bacon Brownies. But I have a query: "Add the chopped dark choc or chips and the streaky bacon bits, breaking them up with your hands if necessary. Fold together then pour and scrape into the tin." How finely do I have to chop the chocolate? And if I just fold the chopped chocolate in (without melting it), would the brownie have uneven bits of chocolate here and there?

Our answer

Nigella's Bacon Brownies (on the Nigella website) are made with a cocoa-intense brownie batter that is studded with nuggets of salty bacon and chocolate chips. If you are using chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips then you need to chop the chocolate into smallish pieces, each very approximately 4mm/1/4 inch square. They do not have to be exactly even or perfect but you will find it easier to chop the chocolate with a sharp, heavy knife.

The chocolate chips/chopped chocolate do not melt and mix into the batter. When the brownies bake the batter slightly insulates the chocolate chips and when the brownies cool the chips and bacon add texture, as well as small bursts of flavour, to the brownies.