MAKES ABOUT 12 BROWNIES
INGREDIENTS:
- 225g (1 cup) unsalted butter
- 10 large fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped, plus more leaves for decorating
- Softened unsalted butter, for the baking pan
- 90g (2/3 cup) dark chocolate, chopped
- 80g (2/3 cup) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 70g (½ cup) plain flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 275g (1¼ cups) sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 45 g (1/3 cup) roughly chopped raw almonds
- ¼ teaspoon Maldon sea salt
METHOD:
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium–low heat. Remove from the heat, then stir in the chopped sage, cover and let stand for 30 minutes.
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180°C. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 20cm square metal baking pan, then line the pan with baking paper, leaving about 2.5cm hanging over the sides.
Fill a medium saucepan with about 2.5cm of water and bring to a simmer over medium–low heat. Add the dark chocolate to a large heatproof bowl, then set the bowl over the pan of simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Warm the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until melted.
Remove the bowl from the pan (careful – it will be warm!) and use a clean kitchen towel to carefully wipe any condensation from the bottom of the bowl.
Pour the sage-infused butter through a fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl of melted chocolate, pressing on the sage to extract as much flavour as possible (discard the sage). Stir until the butter is fully incorporated into the melted chocolate.
Sift the cocoa powder and flour into a medium bowl. Add the salt.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, whip the sugar and eggs on high speed until fluffy and doubled in volume, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture and whip on medium–low speed, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed, until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix on low speed, scraping the bowl as needed, until just combined, about 30 seconds. Do not overmix, as you don’t want to lose all the fluffy texture you created by whipping the eggs and sugar.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, then scrape it. Add the almonds and gently fold with a rubber spatula until incorporated.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the Maldon salt and a few sage leaves for decoration.
Bake until slightly cracked and firm along the edges but soft and gooey in the middle, 20 to 25 minutes.
Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Carefully wiggle the baking paper to release the brownies from the pan, then lift the baking paper and use it to place the brownies on a cutting board. Cut into equal squares for serving. The brownies keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or can be well wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months.
Edited recipe extract from Cake from Lucie by Lucie Franc de Ferriere, published by Hardie Grant Books. In stores nationally from 12 May 2026.
Photography: Lucia Bell-Epstein
