120g/4 oz of butter - cubed and softened
200g/7oz of plain bitter chocolate (containing at least 70% cocoa solids) - broken into pieces
165g/5¾ oz of caster sugar
2 eggs - beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
140g/5 oz of plain flour -sifted
100g/3½ oz of pecan nuts - some halved, the rest chopped
powdered sugar - for dusting

METHOD

Melt the butter and three quarters of the chocolate in a heat resistant glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir well. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and whisk using an electric beater until evenly blended. Add the flour and use a spatula to gently fold it through the mix until it is a thick, rich, dark batter with no floury areas. Do not overmix. Prepare an 8" square baking pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper. Smooth the batter out into the tin. Scatter the nuts and remaining chocolate over the cake, pushing some well in. Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 17-18 minutes. The edges should look firm but the centre barely cooked. The residual heat will continue the cooking process out of the oven. Allow to cool a little and then score into 16 squares.

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