When combining wine and chocolate only good things can happen and this is a law! (This statement is completely open for interpretations!)  Adding some juicy plums however makes the combination truly divine! And oh, so hard to resist! Luckily because of the still grey and cold February weather outside resisting has been suspended until further notice.

Brownies are of course super easy to make and open for jazzing up with different fruits, spices and liquors.  Mine here are with wine(d) plums,  purely because I love fruits in brownies and because I wanted to do something in honour of the Day of the Wine. Yes, despite the belief that every day is a Wine Day, official Day of the Wine does exist in Bulgaria and actually is quite an important holiday. Again, despite the fact we love it so much, we are actually pretty good at producing it too, ever since Thracian times. The day is devoted to Saint Trifon Zarezan, protector of the vineyards and winemakers. Enough with the cultural lesson, now let’s get cooking!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

100g dark chocolate

80g butter

80g brown sugar

40g flour

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

½ tsp. baking powder

3 soft red plums

1/3 cup of  red wine

2 tbsp. sugar

Please note that this amount was enough to make about 8-9 individual brownie hearts. If you are using a square tray roughly 25cm -25cm you may want to double the amounts.

Start with slicing the plums. If you are using a tray leave them in long slices. If you are making individual portions it will be better to chop them in smaller pieces. Put the plums in a pan over medium heat and pour the wine and the 2 spoons sugar. Add a bit of water to cover nicely the plums in liquid. Once boiling, reduce the heat and let them simmer until all the liquid has absorbed.

In the meantime melt the butter and the chocolate together over bain marie.  Stir gently until you get a smooth shiny mixture.  Remove from heat and let it cool down.

In a separate bowl mix the eggs with the sugar using electric mixer.  Pour the chocolate mixture very slowly into the eggs mixture and continue mixing until well combined.  Add the baking powder and cocoa powder to the flour and gently sift the flour into the liquid mixture. Combine gently using a spatula.

The last bit is to add your winy plums in. Make sure they are cooled down. Stir 2-3 times to disperse evenly and pour the batter in your tray/cases of choice.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes at 180⁰C, however keep an eye on the brownies as you are aiming for crunchy outer and gooey inner, so take them out of the oven once the edges have harden up but the center is still moist.

You can of course substitute the plums with cherries, apricots, blackberries or anything that you find inspiring. The good thing about brownies is that in all cases they will be absolutely scrumptious! Enjoy!