White Miso Sesame Swirl Brownies

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175 °C (oven) for 15 min and line a 20×20 cm pan with baking paper overhanging two sides. Take the eggs out of the fridge.

   oven

2. Put the cubed butter and chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water (low heat), the bowl not touching the water, and stir for 4 min until melted. Lift off the heat and whisk in half the miso until there are no lumps. Let it cool for 5 minutes until warm.

   Add in this stepUnsalted butter 115 gDark chocolate (55–70% cocoa) 115 gWhite (shiro) miso 1¼ tbsp

   low heat

3. Whisk in the brown sugar, then the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each, and the vanilla. Whisk vigorously for 1 min until thick and glossy. The miso is salty, so there is no extra salt.

   Add in this stepLight brown sugar 180 gEggs, at room temperature 2Vanilla extract 1 tsp

4. Sift in the flour and cocoa and fold with a spatula only until no dry flour is visible.

   Add in this stepPlain (all-purpose) flour 65 gUnsweetened cocoa powder 25 g

5. In a small bowl, stir the tahini, the rest of the miso and the honey until smooth; add 1 teaspoon of water if it's very thick. Spread the brownie batter in the 20×20 cm pan, drop spoonfuls of the tahini-miso over the top and drag a toothpick or skewer through in loose figure-eights, just 2 or 3 times; too much swirling muddies the pattern. Scatter over the sesame seeds.

   Add in this stepTahini (or Japanese sesame paste) 3 tbspWhite (shiro) miso 1¼ tbspHoney 2 tspToasted sesame seeds (white or black) 2 tsp

6. Bake at oven for 27 min, until the edges pull slightly away from the pan and a toothpick in the centre comes out with moist crumbs. It's normal for the tahini swirls to turn golden.

   oven

7. Cool completely in the pan for at least 1 h, then lift out and cut into 9 pieces. They're even better the next day, once the miso and chocolate have mellowed together.