Chocolate Double Miso-lution Brownies

For those outside of Australia, we had our Federal election last Saturday.  Unusually, it was a double dissolution election, where the entire upper house of parliament (the Senate) was dissolved and to be voted for, as opposed to just half of it, which is the norm.  This was an attempt by the then current Coalition government to rid itself of a hostile Senate with many disparate independent senators. However, if you follow Australian politics, you will know that this strategy failed dismally, and we are now faced with the prospect of a hung parliament (with neither of the major parties having a clear majority) and an even more hostile Senate.

There is a terrific show on the ABC called Kitchen Cabinet, where political reporter and home baker Annabel Crabb visits the homes of various politicians and attempts to get inside their heads while sharing a meal.  Annabel always brings dessert.  When she visited Malcolm Turnbull, our current Prime Minister, she brought self-styled Chocolate Double Miso-lution Brownies (a word play on double dissolution) for dessert.  Malcolm didn't get the joke and did not react when she mentioned the name of her brownies.  Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

I however was intensely interested in making the Chocolate Double Miso-lution Brownies because, as the name suggests, they contain miso paste, giving the salty-sweet flavour that is all the rage at present.  I was pleasantly surprised - the miso is not overpowering and just adds a hint of something that you probably wouldn't be able to identify if you didn't know what it was.  The white chocolate on top gives a nice sweet, slightly crunchy contrast to the dense salty-sweet brownie beneath.

If you fancy joining us to munch on some Double Miso-lution Brownies while we wait for  an election result, the recipe is as follows:

200g butter
145g sugar 
3 eggs 
200g dark chocolate
3 tablespoons shiro (sweet white miso paste)
50g plain flour 
50g cocoa powder 
100g white chocolate

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the miso paste using a metal spoon. 

Melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie or microwave, then cool slightly before folding into the brownie batter.

Sift the flour and cocoa together then fold gently into the batter until just combined.

Spread the batter into a greased and lined 23 x 23 square cake tin (mine was a little smaller). Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and press them lightly just into the surface of the brownie, leaving the pieces mostly above the batter to allow them to caramelise without sinking.

Bake the brownies in the pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow the brownies to cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.