Nigel Slater's Very Good Chocolate Brownies

I had lots of chocolate on hand, so armed with an article from the Guardian UK I tried Nigel's recipe for Very Good Chocolate Brownies.

The ingredients are the usual suspects which go into most brownies i.e. butter, sugar, chocolate, some cocoa, eggs and strangely baking powder. The method, however, is different. The recipe requires you to cream the butter and sugar till light fluffy first, then beat in the eggs followed by folding in of the chocolate and subsequently the dry ingredients. I added a dash of vanilla because that's what I like, though this is essentially supposed to be a no vanilla brownie.

The result? A really light crumbly brownie that melts on your tongue. There is no other way to describe it. While the flavour is spot on, I'm not sure I like the texture. My chocolate heart tells me that brownies should be denser and slightly chewy. Also too much work for such a simple delight. I'd be happier being able to whip a batch of brownies that required one to melt the butter, mix everything up in just one saucepan and be ready for the oven in 15 minutes flat.

Please follow the link for the full recipe of Nigel Slater's Very Good Chocolate Brownies. What I have written out here is a much abreviated version of it.

VERY GOOD CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

300g Caster Sugar

250g Butter, softened

250 Chocolate, of which 200g is to be melted and the remainder 50g chopped into pieces

3 Whole Eggs and 1 Egg Yolk, lightly beaten with fork

60g Plain Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

60 Cocoa Powder

Dash of Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Line a 10 inch x 10 inch square tin with foil. Set aside.

Cream Butter and Sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer still running add in the Egg bit by bit taking care that all the Egg mixture is well combined with the Butter and Sugar. Fold in melted Chocolate. Fold in Plain Flour, Baking and Cocoa Powders. Fold in Chocolate pieces.

Scrape mixture into prepared tin and bake for 20 - 30 minutes. At 20-minute mark, poke skewer through the middle. It should come out with slightly wet batter sticking to it. Remove from oven. If still very liquid, leave until the 30-minute mark and test again. It should not take more than 30 minutes to bake.

Leave to cool completely in tin before cutting into squares.  

Some thoughts on blogging and a touch of Christmas gone by...

I never thought I'd say this, but I am beginning to think that professional bloggers, really don't have anything else going on in their lives besides blogging.

I've spent half of the morning, just trying to get photos uploaded on the blog which is such a waste of precious weekend time. Time which could be used otherwise i.e. baking something delicious, visiting friends, napping, etc.

My posts are far apart and for that I am telling the whole world today 'I am glad'. It means that I have other things to do than rushing home after work to update the blog; spending even more time in front of the computer than I already do in a day at work; and it means I have a LIFE outside blogging. So Hurrah for that today... the day of small mercies.

However, all this slowness may well be the fault of my dear service provider a.k.a. Maxis? Anyway... before I waste more precious weekend time on the computer, I'm signing off with photos of my Christmas biscuits. Recipes may follow later... if at all.

Cheers!

Cornflakes Biscuits and Butter Biscuits with a bit of pink bling

Pineapple and Raspberry Jam Tarts... these were good even if I do say so myself