You should be able to pick up a good brownie in your hands to hold it. You shouldn't need a spoon to hold or eat them. Their Brownies were grossly under-cooked. But who am I to say . . .
Anyways, I could have taught them a thing or two about what a real Brownie should be like. They had no clue. Myself, I am always open to learning new things.
Most people of a certain age never get a look in these days. I am okay however with things just as they are. Maybe it is that people of a certain age don't really want to put up with all of the nonsense that goes along with something like that.
I can't be bothered at any rate! People are always saying to me you should go on the GBBO. No thank you! I cook for pleasure and nothing else. To please myself and my loved ones.
After Eight Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240g) butter
- 1 cup (140g) plain all-purpose flour
- 4 ounces (115g) good quality bitter chocolate
- 4 large free range eggs
- 2 cups (190g) sugar
- 1 TBS vanilla essence (YES 1TBS)
- Pinch salt
- 1 package After Eight chocolates, divided
- melted dark chocolate to drizzle
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease and line an 8 inch square glass baking dish. (I like to leave an overhang so that I can lift the brownies out when they are completely cold for cutting.)
- Melt the butter along with the chocolate over low heat in a large pot.
- Allow to cool, then stir in the sugar, eggs (one at a time) vanilla, flour and salt, mixing with a wooden spoon and being careful not to over mix, no more than 50 strokes!
- Break half of the After Eight into bits and fold into the brownie batter.
- Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out a little wet if you want fudgy brownies. Bake until it comes out cleaner if you want cake type brownies, about 40 to 45 minutes for the fudgy ones.
- Place pieces of the remaining mint patties on top and return to the oven for a minute to melt. Remove from the oven and spread out a bit with the back of a spoon.
- Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over top. (You will literally only need about 2 TBS)
- Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container.
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Bring a pot of water to a simmer on the stove. Using a bowl that will sit comfortably on top without the bottom touching the water, put the butter and chocolate into the bowl and place over the simmering water. Stir until it is melted and amalgamated. Set aside to cool slightly.
Beat together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla and orange extracts. (If using)
Whisk together the cocoa powder, almonds and baking powder. Make a well in the centre. Pour over the melted chocolate/butter mixture and the egg mixture. Stir togther until well combined, working from the centre. Pour into the prepared baking tin.
Bake for 25 minutes until set all over and beginning to pull away from the edges of the pan. For gooey brownies, take them out a bit sooner. For firm brownies leave in the oven a bit longer. Allow to cool completely in the pan. Tip out onto a board and carefully peel off the paper. Cut into squares or bars as desired. Store in an airtight container.
Fudge Walnut Brownies
Ingredients
- 225g (1 cup) butter
- 140g (1 cup) plain flour
- 4 ounces good quality bitter chocolate
- 4 large free range eggs
- 400g (2 cups) sugar
- 1 TBS vanilla essence (YES 1TBS)
- Pinch salt
- 60g (1/2 cup) cup walnut halves, broken into pieces
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Grease and flour the bottom of an 8 inch square glass baking dish. Tap out any extra flour.
- Melt the butter along with the chocolate over low heat in a large pot. Allow to cool, then stir in the sugar, eggs (one at a time) vanilla, flour and salt, mixing with a wooden spoon and being careful not to over mix, no more than 50 strokes!
- Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out a little wet if you want fudgy brownies. Bake until it comes out cleaner if you want cake type brownies, about 40 to 45 minutes for the fudgy ones. Let cool a bit before cutting into squares.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Hard at work now putting the final touches onto the manuscript of my cookbook. I am getting really excited about its impending publish. It won't be long now.
It has taken a bit longer than originally thought. I don't think my Editor thought I could do or would do as much as I did so it's going to be quite a large book, but having seen the draft, I can tell you now it is also going to be a beautiful book and I am feeling really good about it!
I have also re-done some photographs of some of the recipes in the book and I thought I would give you a tiny sneak peak here today of what you have to look forward to.
Peppermint brownies. Just one of the several hundred recipes you are going to find in the book! Let me tell you now, the index alone is 8 pages, double columned. That's a LOT of deliciousness to look forward to!
And this recipe is just a sample of what is in there. They are dense and moist . . . and have a beautiful peppermint flavour.
Mint and chocolate go so well together! It is a flavour combination made in heaven.
They have a sweet and glistening chocolate ganache topping. This is decorated with a melted white chocolate drizzle that you run a toothpick through to give it an extra pretty finish.
These are some of my favourite brownies ever, which is saying a lot, and so very pretty!
*Peppermint Brownies*
Makes about 30, depending on how large you cut them
Delicious brownies that get even better tasting after a couple of days! Fantastic!
225g unsalted butter (1 cup)
225g of good quality unsweetened chocolate (8 ounces)
2 tsp peppermint tea leaves
383g caster sugar (2 cups)
4 large free range eggs
2 tsp peppermint essence
pinch fine seasalt
140g plain flour (1 cup)
For the chocolate glaze:
60g unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
60g good quality unsweetened chocolate (2 ounces)
60g semi sweet chocolate (2 ounces)
2 TBS golden syrup (can use corn syrup)
For the White chocolate trim:
60g white chocolate (2 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking tin and line with parchment paper, allowing it to overhang by at least 2 inches above the long sides so that you can lift them out easily once baked and cooled. Butter the parchment paper.
Heat 2 inch of water in a small pot to a gentle simmer. Place the chocolate (chopped) and butter (chopped) for the brownies into a heat proof bowl. Set over the simmering water without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Cook and stir, until the butter and chocolate have melted and are uniform, some 6 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the bowl over the water.
Place the sugar and the peppermint tea in a food processor. Blitz until the tea is finely ground. Stir this mixture into the melted chocolate mixture. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir in the peppermint essence and salt. Sift the flour over top and then fold it in. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bang lightly on the counter to settle and then bake in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until well set and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. Allow to cool to room temperature in the pan, on top of a wire rack, before proceeding. Once cool, lift out by the paper handles and peel off the paper. Place onto a foil lined board, or tray.
To make the glaze bring the water in the pot back to a gentle simmer. Place both of the chocolates (chopped) along with the butter (chopped) into a bowl and set over the simmering water, again without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Cook and stir until smooth and melted. Stir in the golden syrup. Spread the chocolate glaze over the brownies in an even layer using an offset spatula.
Place the whit chocolate in another bowl and set over the simmering water, stirring until completely melted. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over top of the chocolate glaze in lines. Run a toothpick the opposite way through the white chocolate lines to make a decorative pattern. Allow to set for several hours before cutting into squares to serve. Keep well covered and serve at room temperature.
These delicious brownies really make for a delicious change from the regular variety. Its nice to note as well that you can also cut the recipe in half, and bake them in an 8 inch square pan, which is just the right size for my small household. Bon appetit!
Boy, its hard to believe but Christmas is in just a little under three weeks. If you are like me, I am sure you are in the middle of all of your Christmas preparations . . . baking, planning, cooking, etc. I try to be so organized each year, but every year it always catches up with me and I end up not being as organized as I thought!
That is when recipes such as these Easy Lemon Brownies come in really handy. Delicious and quick to make, they are as simple as stirring a couple of things together and banging them into the oven!
Don't get all judgmental on me now . . . I am as good a baker as the next person, but let me tell you . . . cake mixes and prepared icing will always come in handy, and I . . . for one (and I know I am not alone in this) . . . happen to enjoy the convenience of these products and I am really happy that we are getting a lot more varieties of them here in the UK now!!
When I first moved over here, there was very little of these types of things available! I happen to think that they produce some very tasty cakes all on their own, but I also love to use them to bake other things.
These Easy Lemon Brownies use a Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Cake Mix and a can of Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Icing. I was so excited to discover these newest flavours.
And they also have a Spice Cake Mix now and I saw Strawberry Frosting the other day in the shops as well! (The wheels are turning!)
You simply mix the Zesty Lemon Cake Mix together with some melted butter and some beaten eggs and spread the batter in a pan. It's as simple as that!
Nothing could be easier. They only take 15 minutes in the oven . . . and before you know it they are cooling on the side board.
Waiting for them to cool enough so that you can spread them with that delicious Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Icing.
I sprinkled the top with some white chocolate chips and chopped toasted walnuts to dress them up a bit. Of course you could always stir them into the batter . . . but I liked the look of them scattered over the top.
I always toast my nuts. I just think that a light toasting really helps to enhance the flavour of nuts. Do let them cool before you use them though . . .
Just look at how dense and fudgy they are . . . and they have a full on lemon flavour too. I just ADORE Lemon anything, don't you?
Uh huh . . . I thought so!
Once
cold, spread the top with the zesty lemon buttercream frosting. You
will not need it all. Scatter the chocolate chips and toasted walnuts
over top. Cut into 16 squares. Store any leftovers in an airtight
container. You can also freeze them.
These were really, really, REALLY good. So good that I (who shouldn't be really eating anything like this) ate two the day I baked them, then Todd ate two also, and then I divided up the rest into containers and gave them away, because I really don't NEED to have anything that deliciously irresitable in my house! Hot dang!
Don't say I didn't warn you! Seriously the lemon flavours of both the mix and the icing were spot on. I am going to have to go to the shops and buy another of each so I can then just bake them as a cake, because I am thinking the cake will be exceptionally tasty also. I'll make sure to bake it when the missionaries will be about. Just to make sure I don't eat it all.
You know a couple of weeks ago I was just saying how much I wished that the Betty Crocker people would get a lemon flavoured cake mix here and there it was! My wish came true! Many thanks to the people at Betty Crocker for sending me this new cake mix and the icing to try! I am so thankful to have yet another delicious flavour to add to my larder!
Dare I wish for another flavour? Hmmm . . . they have strawberry icing . . . strawberry cake mix would be good! Take Note! And a nice vanilla cake mix would also be very nice.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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