Chocolate Brownies

Cookbook Challenge 2011: Fortnight 6
Theme: American
Recipe: Chocolate Brownies
Cookbook: The Kitchen Diaries

The next theme for the Cookbook Challenge is “American” and so I asked my brother, the American food expert in this house, for ideas. He gave me TONS of great ideas, which I then disregarded so I could make brownies. Sorry Bro!

But brownies? Who can say no to brownies?

I used a Nigel Slater recipe, which is for a basic brownie as there’s no added flavourings or nuts. Though basic isn’t really the right word… the brownies are very dense, fudgey and rich with a flakey top. Perhaps unadulterated is the word I’m looking for.

Basic or unadulterated – there’s no denying that these brownies are GOOD. There’s not much to them apart from a shitload of sugar, butter, and dark chocolate (as well as eggs, flour and cocoa) so obviously if making them you’ll want to use a good eating chocolate. The darker the better, I reckon – I mean, check out how much sugar is in this recipe… you don’t need to add more sweetness!

If you make these, I recommend secretly scoffing the corner pieces and serving the rest. Because the best part of a brownie is the edges. FACT. And the corner = double the edge. EVEN MORE FACT. I obviously need one of these tins in my life.

See previous Cookbook Challenge posts here.

See what other participants made for this theme at the Cookbook Challenge forum.

Nigel Slater’s very good chocolate brownie recipe

From The Kitchen Diaries

300g golden caster sugar
250g butter, softened
250g dark chocolate
3 large eggs, plus one additional egg yolk (I left out the extra yolk and they were fine)
60g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line and grease a baking tin, about 23cm square.

In a mixer, beat the sugar and butter for several minutes until pale and fluffy.

Meanwhile, break the chocolate into pieces and put 50g aside. Melt the rest in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. When it is melted, remove the chocolate from the heat. Chop up the remaining 50g into small pieces.

Beat the eggs together lightly in a small bowl. Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder and add in a pinch of salt.

With the mixer running at a low speed, gradually add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture a little at a time, speeding up the mixer as you go.

When all the egg is incorporated, mix in the melted and chopped chocolate, and then gently fold in the flour mixture.

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check whether it is cooked by inserting a skewer – it should still be a bit sticky but without any raw mixture attached.

Let it cool for at least an hour before cutting into squares and eating the corners – don’t give those away!