I am not a big fan of brownies. I can eat them, but I definitely do not love them. OK, they can taste yummy, but if baked for too long (which is usually the case in Cafès and bakeries), they just taste and look like a disastrous chocolate cake attempt.
The funny thing is: sometimes I get these strange desires of trying to cook or bake something that is on my 'low priority list' just to challenge myself. And - HURRAY!- that is exactly why these little babes have earned their place on my blog. I might be bragging a little, but if you are a chocoholic like me, give these brownies a try and enjoy them with a nice cup of latte.
Bliss, pure chocolate bliss.
Classic Brownies
from here.
70g unsalted butter
112g dark chocolate in chunks, 56% cocoa
56g dark chocolate in chunks, 70% cocoa
150g sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
47g all purpose flour
115g chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 160ºC and line a 20cm square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking tray. I used a loaf pan and it worked just fine. Put the butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, top with the chocolates and stir occasionally until the ingredients are just melted - watch out so the butter doesn't separate from the mixture. Remove the bowl from the pan of water. Stir in the sugar with a whisk, but don't stress if it gets a little grainy. Whisk in the eggs, one by one. Add the vanilla and whisk the other ingredients vigorously . Stir gently the espresso, salt and flour; don't over stir. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the chopped walnuts. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
Bake the brownies for 30 to 33 minutes or until the top is dull and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the brownies for room temperature. When completely cool, turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and invert onto a cutting board – cut into 16 squares. Serve them alone or with some vanilla ice cream and decorate with some raspberries. Yum!
Makes 16
The funny thing is: sometimes I get these strange desires of trying to cook or bake something that is on my 'low priority list' just to challenge myself. And - HURRAY!- that is exactly why these little babes have earned their place on my blog. I might be bragging a little, but if you are a chocoholic like me, give these brownies a try and enjoy them with a nice cup of latte.
Bliss, pure chocolate bliss.
Classic Brownies
from here.
70g unsalted butter
112g dark chocolate in chunks, 56% cocoa
56g dark chocolate in chunks, 70% cocoa
150g sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
47g all purpose flour
115g chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 160ºC and line a 20cm square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking tray. I used a loaf pan and it worked just fine. Put the butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, top with the chocolates and stir occasionally until the ingredients are just melted - watch out so the butter doesn't separate from the mixture. Remove the bowl from the pan of water. Stir in the sugar with a whisk, but don't stress if it gets a little grainy. Whisk in the eggs, one by one. Add the vanilla and whisk the other ingredients vigorously . Stir gently the espresso, salt and flour; don't over stir. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the chopped walnuts. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.
Bake the brownies for 30 to 33 minutes or until the top is dull and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the brownies for room temperature. When completely cool, turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and invert onto a cutting board – cut into 16 squares. Serve them alone or with some vanilla ice cream and decorate with some raspberries. Yum!
Makes 16
