I discovered speculoos spread while travelling in Belgium - and truly my life was empty before that day! Speculoos/speculaas are spiced biscuits similar to gingerbread, and the spread is mostly made up of the crushed biscuits. It's absolutely delicious.
These cocoa brownies are liberally swirled with speculoos spread. They're chewy, dense and sweet - so good!
In Australia, I buy my speculoos online from It's All Dutch To Me (search for 'Lotus'). I have also found a different brand at Aldi but I find that less reliable as it's not always in store!
Recipe adapted from: Alice Medrich via Butter Baking
Ingredients - 20 cm (8 inch) square tin
225g butter
450g white sugar
110g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
120g flour
3/4 cup Speculoos spread (also known as cookie butter or Biscoff)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C (325F).
2. Line a 20 cm (8 inch) baking tin with baking paper.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave or over a double boiler.
4. Mix the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla essence into the melted butter.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until the mixture is combined.
6. Fold the flour into the batter then beat it with a spatula or wooden spoon for 40 strokes.
7. Pour the batter into the lined baking tin and smooth out the top.
8. Drop tablespoons of Speculoos over the top of the batter then swirl it in with a knife. Don't break the blobs up too much but make sure that there will be Speculoos in every slice!
9. Bake the brownies for about 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
10. Let the brownies cool (I usually leave them in the fridge for a bit, it makes it easier to cut them up) - finally, cut the brownies into the size of your choosing.
Enjoy!
