Little Brownie Bird

I don't usually indulge in mid-week baking.

This is because I spend a good portion of my weekends in the kitchen and, well, you have to draw a line somewhere.

But this past weekend I didn't spend any time in the kitchen; and last night I really felt like a brownie after dinner....

Triple Chocolate Brownies

The problem I have with brownies is they're just not very photogenic!

But damn! They are delicious!

I used a simple brownie recipe that I hadn't tried before.

And yes, they satisfied that 9pm chocolate craving but if I had the time, I would probably use a different recipe.

Don't let that stop you from trying them out though.. 

Sometimes you need a quickie.

T R I P L E   C H O C O L A T E   B R O W N I E S

125g butter

1 cup dark chocolate

1 cup caster sugar

Melt together in a saucepan on low heat;
Stir for 10 minutes until smooth.

Cool completely.

Stir in 2 lightly beaten eggs;
1 + 1/4 cup plain flour;
1 cup white choc chips;
1 cup milk choc chips.

Pour into lightly greased brownie tray.

Bake on 180 for 20 minutes.

xx

Choc Raspberry Brownies

Another baking post..

Yes - at the moment, I am spending alllll of my free time in the kitchen.

Today it's about brownies.


C H O C   R A S P B E R R Y   B R O W N I E S

Sidenote : One day I will figure out how to photograph chocolate baked goods so that they look appetising.

Please bare with me while I stumble along blindly taking terrible photos!

I bought a new brownie tin which makes 12 individual brownies.

Individual brownie pan - Available here

You know, so you -

a) don't make a mess when you turn out an entire slab of brownie from a lamington tray; and 

b) don't make a mess when you're trying to cut said brownie slab into bite-sized pieces (or is that just me who can never, ever cut neatly?!)

In any case, I am in love with my new tin. And am planning on extending it's skills wayyy further than brownie baking. So watch this space..................

But... Back to the recipe - 

You will need - 

300g dark chocolate (I used 200g dark choc block; and 100g dark choc pieces)

200g butter

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

300g frozen raspberries

Ready?

OK

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celcius

Grease your new fancy brownie pan

Melt 200g chocolate and butter in microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.

Sift flour and cocoa into large bowl. Stir in sugar.

Whisk in eggs; vanilla; and cooled choc/butter mixture.

Add raspberries - Fold.

Divide mixture into pan.

Sprinkle with choc pieces.

Bake

.

.

.

.

.

.

For about 30 minutes ?

Keep an eye on them.. the time will vary.

Cool completely in pan.

Or - Eat while warm and gooey.

xx

Chocolate Heaven in a Patty Pan

This may seem somewhat contradictory, given my "I go to the gym now" post last week..

But what I'm about to share with you is a huge contributing factor in why I need to go to the gym.

I ate more than my fair share. Then I took the rest to work - so everyone else could experience the chocolate coma that these deliver.

Rocky Road Brownies

Chocolate Heaven in a Patty Pan

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, chopped 

125g dark cooking chocolate, chopped 

2 eggs 

2 Tbsp light olive or vegetable oil 

1 cup brown sugar 

1 cup plain flour 

1/3 cup dark cocoa

200g milk cooking chocolate, chopped 

30g copha

1 cup chopped marshmallows

5 pieces Turkish delight, chopped 

Method

1. Preheat oven to moderate 180C. Melt butter and chocolate - pick your method (over simmering water on the stove; or in the microwave - I don't mind). Remove and stand to cool until lukewarm.

2. Beat eggs, oil and brown sugar until the mixture increases in volume and becomes thicker and paler in colour.

3. Sift the flour and cocoa into the egg mixture. Add melted chocolate and butter. Fold until combined. Divide amongst patty pans. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and stand on a wire rack to cool. 

4. To make rocky road topping - Melt chocolate and copha. Divide chopped marshmallows and turkish delight amongst each brownie - top with melted chocolate.

Note: You can also add other fun things to the 'rocky road' part of these brownies.. like crushed clinkers or jelly beans. Or you can add lame stuff like nuts and glazed cherries.. I'll let you choose the level of awesomeness that these brownies can achieve.

These are sure to cure the worst case of Monday-itis.

And probably Tuesday-itis.. And again on Wednesday.. And Thursday! 

Not Friday though. On Friday, you should make the tequila cupcakes. Much more appropriate!

xx

Winter = Comfort Food

And by comfort food, I mean chocolate. And lots of it.

My favourite way to spend a Sunday afternoon is in the kitchen making mouth-watering treats.

Please note that the Sunday Afternoon baking tradition was born after I discovered that Saturday Afternoon baking was making me very fat. Mostly because rather than sharing the baked goods, I tend to eat them. All of them.

This afternoon involved chocolate from Bali and a box of Oeros.

The result was chocolate raspberry brownies and Oreo stuffed choc chip cookies.

Miss Pip discovered the recipe for these cookies here and while I'm not a huge fan of Oero's, I simply had to give it a go. (There may have also been significant pressure from co-workers who heard us discussing these cookies and begged me to make them on the weekend - I caved. I'm pathetic like that sometimes..)

Besides -- It's a cookie inside a cookie!!!!

I must say that I was amused by the recipe, which claimed to make 24 gigantic cookies.

I realise that 'gigantic' is an ambiguous measurement, but my mixture only made 13, so I must have done something wrong.

Anyway, I have been extremely restrained and haven't taste-tested these cookies yet (mostly because there's only 13 and I had to take some to my sweet-toothed colleagues.)

Oh, and the brownies ?

Not nearly as exciting. Or as photogenic.

And also, I may have been using a clock with no batteries as a time-keeping tool which may have resulted in crispier than intended brownies..

Note to self - buy new batteries for the clock in the kitchen.

xx