Raspberry-swirl brownie

Inspired by my most hunted-for chocolate out of the chocolate box–tart fresh berry purée swirled in a fudgy, dark chocolate brownie

Raspberry-swirl, dark chocolate brownie

I have some cakes planned for the spring, but my new home oven hasn’t arrived yet so I’m still baking out of a toaster oven, and that drove the decision for today’s recipe which fits in a 9”x9”, toaster-oven-friendly-pan—plus, raspberries are in season now anyway, and there’s always room for a new brownie recipe. This is a fudgier brownie, with no other leavening than whipped eggs and sugar.

The inspiration for this brownie comes from the one chocolate I’d hunt for in the chocolate box—from my first Whitman’s chocolates that my grandmother used to give me and my sisters, to heart-shaped Godiva boxes that my dad gave us in the 80s for Valentine’s, to one of my very favorite grown-up brands, Maison du Chocolat. The Maison du Chocolat version has a tart pate de fruit center which is intensely fruity and marries perfectly with dark chocolate.

You could swirl in raspberry jam, but I find it to be too sweet in an already sweet brownie batter—I really want the tartness to be pronounced—so I start with fresh berries and only minimally sweeten them (you can also use frozen). The small amount of cornstarch thickens the mixture enough to be sliceable when cool.

If you like a seedy filling, you don’t have to strain it, but I like to strain out about half of the seeds.