Brownie bites

Set the oven to 350 and butter every well of a mini muffin tin.

Measure everything out before starting, because the work is done in a hot pan.

Melt the unsalted butter in the pan over heat until fully melted.

Stir in the granulated sugar, then the salt, the cocoa powder and the vanilla.

Stir until the cocoa powder blooms into a dark fudge. Cocoa powder added to a hot liquid such as hot butter or hot water releases its flavour, the same trick used on normal brownies and devil's food cake.

Take the pan off the heat and let it cool five minutes so the remaining ingredients do not burn.

With the mixture warm but not hot, add the eggs and whisk until combined, with no white streaks on the whites. Give it an extra mix once the eggs are in for a crackly brownie top.

Add the flour and mix until almost incorporated, then add the chocolate chips, which melt into fudgy streaks.

Divide evenly among the 24 wells, about a tablespoon and a half of batter each.

Variation: add chopped toasted nuts, sprinkles on top, a little peanut butter, caramel or toffee.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the centre is set and the tops are cracked and shiny.

Store up to a week in the fridge, or up to two months in the freezer in a resealable bag.

Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then pop them out.