Dinner's done. Plates cleared, the wine still out, no one in a hurry to leave the table. This is the brownie's moment.
Warm one through until the centre goes molten again, and set it on a good plate — a quenelle of vanilla sliding off the edge, a spoon of crème fraîche if you're feeling it, a dusting of cocoa, a few flakes of sea salt. A restaurant dessert, made in the time it takes to boil the kettle for coffee.
Fudgy centre, cookie edge, real butter doing the browning, couverture chocolate in pools rather than uniform chips. It plates like something off a tasting menu and tastes better for being yours — good company, no rush.
The best desserts aren't complicated. They're a very good thing, warmed through and shared slowly while the evening stretches.
Serve the brownie.