Of all the cakes I like to make, chocolate brownies remain the single easiest, fastest and tastiest offering to bring to any gathering. You can dress it up as dessert (warmed) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or keep it simple and pack on your next picnic/ hospital stay/ long-haul flight.
The problem with making a tray of cake is that unless we give some away, we are not able to finish it all. Freezing doesn’t work as I never remember what is in the freezer, and eating the same cake day after day is quite challenging. We could, of course, buy single pieces of cake at any of the 30 or so bakeries and cafes within a one mile walking distance of our doorstep, but to date I have never found a brownie (or other cake) as good as a home-made one.
Recently I had the idea of buying a smaller baking tin and simply making fewer pieces of cake. So far this has worked out very well. Instead of 12 pieces or squares of cake from a 20 x 30 cm cake tin, I get nine pieces from a 20 x 20 cm cake tin. Whilst not a massive reduction, it’s a start in the right direction.
The brownie recipe below has been adapted from the longstanding recipe I have used for 30 years. Since it was such a successful recipe, I am wary of tinkering with it. Mindful of health advice, I have slightly lowered the butter and sugar content. This means you can add chocolate chips / walnuts / pecan-miso-maple topping without feeling like it’s too much.
For the Brownies:
170 g unsalted butter
200 g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
180 g unrefined caster sugar
3 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
115 g plain flour, sifted
pinch of fine sea salt
Additions (optional): 100 g chocolate chips/ 100 g chopped walnuts/ 100g pecan-miso-maple topping
You will also need a 20 x 20 cm baking tin, lined with parchment paper.
How to Make (for the Thermomix method see below):
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan.
Place the butter and chocolate in a metal or glass bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until melted. Remove the bowl and leave mixture to cool slightly.
Place the sugar and eggs in the bowl of a free standing electric mixer. Using the balloon whisk attachment, whisk until the mixture has thickened and has the consistency of custard.
Pour in the melted chocolate and butter, followed by the vanilla, then mix altogether using a silicon spatula.
Finally, fold in the flour, salt and any of the additions (chocolate chips, walnuts or pecans).
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin, and bake for 25 minutes.
Brownies are notorious for drying out, so watch over yours carefully. As a rough guide, it should remain slightly moist in the middle when you remove it from the oven.
Cool for 10 minutes, then cut the Brownies into 9 equal squares.
How to Make (Thermomix method):
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan.
Place the chocolate into the TM bowl and chop 5 seconds/ speed 7.
Add the butter and melt 4 minutes/ 70°C/ speed 2.
Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour and salt. Mix 1 minute/ speed 4. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl using silicon spatula.
Add the chocolate chips, walnuts or pecans, and mix 7 sec/ speed 4.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin, and bake for 25 minutes.
Brownies are notorious for drying out, so watch over yours carefully. As a rough guide, it should remain slightly moist in the middle when you remove it from the oven.
Cool for 10 minutes, then cut the Brownies into 9 equal squares.
I always trim off the sides of the brownies (and keep them to snack on) before cutting into equal-sized squares
My current favourite addition is pecan nuts baked in a coating of miso and maple syrup
Next round: I have a jar of Amarena cherries (from Fabbri) which I never got round to using over Christmas, and I might add this to the next batch of brownies that I bake.