Peanut butter chocolate brownies

I have a confession to make, I'm an addict, a peanut butter addict, I love everything about it, the flavour, the stick to the roof of your mouth texture, but especially the sweet and salty combination that peanut butter brings. I have been known to sit with a jar and a spoon, and munch away. I would use any excuse to put peanut butter into a recipe, I have to say that this combination works extremely well, the peanut butter lends a savoury quality to the brownies and enhances the fudgeyness that brownies should have. I love getting creative with brownies, this is definitely another version to add to my repertoire.

You will need:
300g of plain chocolate
100g of 85% cocoa solid dark chocolate
225g of salted butter
1 tsp instant espresso powder
200g of caster sugar
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp of salt
75g of plain flour
1 tsp of baking powder
4 large eggs
5 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter (skippy is the best)

Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees c.
I use a silicone 8 inch by 8 inch square baking tray, if you do not have a silicone tin line the bottom and sides of the tray with foil.
In a bain marie (a bowl of water sat over a pan of simmering water but not touching the bottom) melt the butter, chocolate, coffee, vanilla and salt together. When melted stir to fully combine and set aside to cool. Once cooled add the eggs one at a time, then the sugar, sieved flour and baking powder. When the mixture is thoroughly incorporated empty the filling into the baking tray, spoon the peanut butter in random blobs on top of the batter and place in the oven for five minutes so that the peanut butter has a chance to melt. Remove the brownies from the oven and using a skewer loosely mix the peanut butter into the chocolate batter in circular motions until the peanut butter has created a marble effect. Return the pan back to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes of until the top is very cracked. As soon as you remove the brownies from the oven bash the pan on the side to knock any air out of the brownies, this will result in a fudgey brownie. Leave to cool thoroughly as the middle should still be damp