Saturday 23 March 2013

Best ever brownies

Everyone who likes cooking or baking has something that they cook which is Their Thing, right? I’ve always loved baking. I have fond memories of helping my Mum make cakes in her Kenwood Chef and making apple pie with my Grandma. The pleasure of sharing a homemade cake with friends gives me almost as much pleasure as eating the cake itself! My Thing is chocolate brownies. I’ve been making them for years. I actually sent my husband off with a tin of brownies when he went on his stag. One of his friends said that after eating one, he could understand why he wanted to marry me!

I’ve experimented with a few different recipes, but I always come back to the same one. It’s a Good Housekeeping recipe that I’ve adapted slightly. The original recipe included walnuts, but I’ve removed these and added extra flour as I found that with a smaller amount the brownies were too gooey. They should still be gooey, but you shouldn’t need to eat them with a spoon!

Chocolate brownies recipe


Makes: 24
Preparation: 20 minutes, plus cooling
Cooking time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients
575g (1 ¼ 1b) plain chocolate
225g (8oz) butter
3 eggs
2 tbsp freshly made strong black coffee
225g (8oz) caster sugar
75g (6oz) self-raising flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
  1. Grease and line a baking tin measuring 19 x 27cm across the base (or use a tin with similar dimensions).
  2. Using a sharp knife, roughly chop 225g (8oz) of the chocolate and set aside. Melt the remaining chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Let cool slightly.
  3. Mix the eggs, coffee and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth, then gradually beat in the melted chocolate. Fold in the flour, salt, walnuts. Vanilla essence and chopped chocolate.
  4. Pour into the prepared tin and bake at 190C (375F) for 40-45 minutes or until just firm to the touch in the centre.
  5. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out. Trim off the crusty edges and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Photo credit: elana's pantry / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

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