The Halloween brownies are so much fun and super delicious. Extra fudgy chocolate brownies are topped with delicious cream cheese frosting in spooky, vibrant shades and finished with a scattering of candy eyes. Eat them before they eat you!
Put the butter and chopped dark chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl.
Use 30 second bursts in the microwave to melt the chocolate and butter together. Alternatively, you use a bain marie method, placing the bowl over a pan with a little boiling water and allowing the steam to heat the bowl and you stir gently.
Whisk the sugar into the chocolate. It's ok if it's grainy at this stage.
Add the beaten eggs and vanilla. Whisk through.
Sieve the flour into the bowl. Fold through with a silicone spatula or metal spoon.
Grease and line a 20cm x 28cm (8 inch x 11 inch) non-stick shallow rectangular cake tin. Fill with the brownie batter and level off.
Bake for 30-35 minutes. Bake for 30-35 minutes. You can test if it's baked by pushing a skewer into the centre. If under-baked, you'll see wet batter on the skewer. If just right, you'll see sticky crumbs. If over-baked, the skewer may come out completely clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.
Make the frosting
Place the softened butter in a large bowl. Whisk to loosen.
Sift in the icing sugar. Whisk until pale, smooth and generously increased in volume.
Add the chilled cream cheese. Gently fold through.
Divide the frosting into three bowls. Add food colouring to each one.
Gently stir until evenly coloured. If they seem to have loosened, place in the fridge to firm back up. Transfer to piping bags with a variety of nozzles.
Once completely cooled, transfer the brownie to a board and cut into 12 equally sized squares in a 3x4 pattern.
Space the brownies apart, then pipe the frosting on top of the brownies in any patterns you like: stripes, dots, zig-zags - have fun with it!
Finally, add candy eyes to the tops of your brownies to complete their Halloween look.