Banana Espresso Brownies with Figs

I was in a real baking mood yesterday, and I really felt like making something gooey and delicious. So, what could be better than brownies? I haven't made any for a long time. And they're so versatile! I looked around my kitchen and decided that the overripe banana sitting on the counter would be a nice addition, as would the ten leftover dried figs I had in the cupboard. Remembering the super-tasty flavor of my Fig Espresso Cookies, I decided to add a teaspoon of espresso grounds, too. And thus, the Banana Espresso Brownies with Figs were born! I love the inclusion of figs - they make for such a satisfying crunch, without using nuts.

As this was a real cleaing-out mission, I used three different kinds of chocolate. Two rather ordinary, and one very dark (75% cacao) with salted macadamia nuts. They weren't really noticable in the final results though. And I used two types of sugar since I ran out of brown - feel free to do as you please.

These are gooey, but not overly so - they can easily be cut and served, and would be really good for a larger gathering. The recipe makes quite a few - I got 24 normal-sized pieces. I asked Tesse and Danne over for tea, dropped off a box of six at my neighbor-the-vet, and froze the rest.

Banana Espresso Brownies with Figs
Makes 24

225 g butter, softened (I use normal, salted butter)
170 g brown sugar
125 g white sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
175 g dark chocolate
1 tsp ground espresso coffee
1 very ripe banana
10 dried figs, cut into small dice
175 g flour

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (that's what I always do). Let it cool slightly.

Beat the butter with both sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add vanilla, espresso and banana, and beat well. (Don't forget to scrape down the sides, if you're using a Kitchen-Aid.) Stir in the melted chocolate, flour and figs. Scrape into a greased and lined baking pan, and bake at 175°C for about 20-25 minutes.

I'm entering this in a lovely new food event: Browniebabe of the month!

Recipe in Swedish:
Brownies med banan, espresso och fikon