Smoky chilli brownies

Brownies and sponge cakes are opposites. For a sponge you are doing everything for ethereal lightness: whipping in air, keeping it through careful folding, then using leavening agents to expand those air bubbles in the oven. In a brownie you want squidgy, fudgy richness, so the reverse is called for: damp sugars, a molten batter, teetering towards the edge of undercooking.

These brownies are particularly good because they are intensely chocolaty without veering into truffle territor