Do you remember (avid readers that you all are, no doubt) my mention in my Real Food Festival post about the best brownies in the world? They come from this lovely little business, Gower Cottage Brownies. I gather that it is run by a very cheery looking lady called Kate who set up a catering business, and whose brownies proved so popular that she started doing mail order. They indeed have had rave reviews from all the serious names in the food media world, and I was very impressed when I sampled a bite at the festival. My mum was also impressed by the fact that they do courier service so the fresh brownies arrive the next day, and I remember her picking up a leaflet for future reference. Clearly the "future" was not so future, as a box arrived in my pigeon hole this morning.

Nothing like some chocolatey goodness to do away with exam stress - apparently I will need the calories, according to mum. Anyway, I had two today with a cup of tea and they truly are wonderful - I like brownies to be slightly crisp on the outside and squidgy in the middle, and these are perfect. How she achieves it with only about six ingredients I do not know, but points for the fact that they are preservative-free - I hate buying shop-made cakes because of all the rubbish that goes into them and makes them slightly hard and synthetic. Even the Fortnum and Mason morello cherry and valrhona chocolate cake I had yesterday (from the hamper that, again, mum got me - I sound so spoilt now...) was not as good as these brownies, and I think it's all down to the brownies being almost just-baked and not soullessly shrink-wrapped. They were just so good. I would highly recommend ordering a box - I think they're about £16 and that might include courier service, I'm not sure. More expensive than making your own, but the packaging is lovely and they'd make a nice gift to surprise someone.

I am salivating a bit now.

And the odd thing is, this morning I spent my exam writing an essay about John Gower, the medieval poet who wrote the Confessio Amantis. Two Gowers in one day. I definitely preferred the chocolate version.