Malted Milk Chocolate Brownies with Maltesers

It was the perfect weekend for baking this weekend (but not so much for photography). It was grey and dreary, it was wet and miserable. No better time to make your whole house smell like delicious, freshly baked brownies. And not just any regular brownie either, a chewy, malted milk chocolate brownie full of Maltesers (malted milk balls) to give it crunch.

Don't let their dimpled, scraggly appearance put you off. These brownies are the bees knees. The cat's pajamas. I went one step further and did a light sprinkling of Milo (chocolate malt) powder over the top before putting it in the oven, which created an extra chewy, chocolatey crust over the top. It's up to you if you want to do that, or sprinkle crushed Maltesers over the top. It seemed like opinions were divided when I floated the idea with those of you on Facebook and Instagram, so I'll leave it up to you!

Now you might think these seem over the top and super sugary, but keep in mind that I seriously reduced the amount of sugar from the original brownie recipe so it's really not too sweet at all. The original recipe is David Lebovitz's and is so amazing, it's now my go-to brownie recipe. (Link is below if you want it.)

I couldn't resist trying it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was pretty awesome.

As with any brownie, the important thing is to ensure you don't overbake them. I usually take mine out of the oven quite early because I know that they'll keep cooking a little longer as they cool inside the pan. The hardest part is always the wait as they cool. They smell SO good and all you want to do is have a taste but you must resist! They will slice much better once they are cooled. Now go make them!

Edited to add: I'm very lucky to be featured in SBS Feast Magazine this month! They were lovely enough to include five of my recipes! Make sure to grab a copy of the April issue (pictured above), which is on stands today.

Malted Milk Brownies with Maltesers

(adapted from this recipe/David Lebovitz's Absolute Best Brownie recipe)

85g (3oz / 6 tbsp) butter, cut into pieces (I used salted, add a pinch of salt if using unsalted)

225g (8oz) good quality milk chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup (50g) sugar

1/2 cup malted milk powder (or Horlicks/Milo/Ovaltine powder)

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup (35 g) all-purpose flour 

1 cup Maltesers/malted milk balls (about 100g)

Optional: extra Milo powder or malted milk powder to sprinkle on top, or crushed Maltesers

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), I'd recommend lowering it to 170°C if using fan-forced. 
2. Grease well and line the bottom and two long sides of a 20x30cm slice/brownie tin  or a 20cm square cake tin. Let the baking paper hang over the edges of two sides, it will make it easier to lift brownie out later. Grease the paper lightly as well.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add the chocolate and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the sugar and malted milk powder until combined (it may go grainy at this point, but this is okay). 
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the eggs one at a time until smooth. 
5. Add the flour and stir energetically for just a minute, until the batter loses its graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from the sides of the saucepan. 
6. Fold in Maltesers and scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle a small amount of Milo powder over the top.
7. Bake until the center feels almost set, about 27-30 minutes. Don’t overbake. 
8. Let cool completely in the pan before lifting out the brownies using the baking paper overhang. Slice into 12 or 16 equal pieces. 
9. Store in in airtight container, can be stored for 4 days or frozen for up to a month.