Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Wipe oil around a 20cm square tin and line the bottom with parchment paper.

NB greaseproof paper is NOT a substitute. I did that once and it stuck to the bottom of the brownies. Eww.

Break up the chocolate and melt it.

NB I do this using a large ceramic bowl which I place in a frying pan, on the stove top. Put the chocolate pieces in the dry bowl, and then add kettle-boiled water to the frying pan and turn on the gas - a very low flame keeps the water hot enough to melt the chocolate. This is in effect a DIY bain marie :)

While the chocolate is melting, carefully mix together the flour, cocoa and sugar in a large mixing bowl. A whisk is good for breaking up any lumps.

Once the chocolate is fully melted (stir it thoroughly to make sure), turn off the heat and remove the bowl from the bain marie. Add the oil and vanilla essence to the chocolate and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the flour etc and stir well. Now add the plant milk. It looks like a disaster right now, but fear not! Have faith. Stir thoroughly and a rich, glossy, chocolatey batter will emerge....

OPTIONAL - add chocolate chips. First check that the batter is cool, because you don't want the chocolate chips to melt in a too-warm batter!

Pour the brownie batter into a 20cm square baking tin. Bake for 25 minutes, check how well they are done and give them another 5 minutes if needed. Try not to overbake or they will turn into cake!

Place on a cooling rack. Once cool, cut into squares and refrigerate - they go fudgy and keep best that way. (You can always microwave one for 10 seconds if you want it warm!)