First up, I’d just like to apologise – all my photos of the brownies are particularly bad!  This was the best of a bad lot – obviously not a food styling night when I made these!

Full disclosure – I was sent this mix to try and (if I wanted to) review on the blog.  I was not paid for my comments but the mix was provided free of charge.  All opinions are my own.

I subscribed to Donna Hay magazine and I generally really enjoy her recipes.  Most of the time they are simple but they focus on using real ingredients and I like to use them on weeknights when I’m a bit crunched for time.

So, when I was given the opportunity to try one of Donna Hay’s packet mixes I thought it was worth a try.  As you probably realise from this blog, I don’t normally use packet mixes – most of the time I think it’s nearly as easy to start from scratch, and often quite a bit cheaper.  However, I know plenty of people who use them and swear by them.

One of the first things I did when I got the package, was check out the ingredients list.  I was pleasantly surprised -nothing too scary in there.  Then I looked at the steps required – just add melted butter and eggs.  Again, pretty straightforward.

So I melted my butter and cracked my eggs.  I beat the mixture with my wooden spoon and then stirred in the chocolate chunks.  My oven barely had time to pre-heat and I was spooning the batter into my greased tin (unfortunately, I couldn’t find my brownie pan and had to use my spring-form tin which may have affected my results).

40 or so minutes later (more like 30 in my super hot oven) and I pulled the brownies out to cool.  Unfortunately they had become a bit hard and overcooked at the sides, so I cut the edges away once they cooled  a bit.

I served the brownies with ice cream and I must confess I was pleasantly surprised.  They were rich and dark, with delicious chunks of melted chocolate.  They were still nicely gooey in the middle.  As far as box mixes go, this was a winner.

I taste tested these on one of my best friends who gave them the thumbs up, and on J’s workmates, who ate them cold and still enjoyed them.  This is definitely a sharing recipe – the brownies are really rich and best consumed in smaller quantities.

I probably won’t use this mix too often myself (like I said, I tend to make things from scratch), but I have no issues recommending it to people who use packet mixes.

Thanks to Donna Hay for the chance to try a new product!

Now, where is that treadmill?

Donna Hay’s Molten Chocolate Chunk Brownie mix is available online here, and from selected supermarkets.