brownies

I quite like the odd bit of sluttiness…

Posted by annauk1 on October 18, 2012
Posted in: Baking, Betty Crocker, brownies, chocolate. 9 Comments

….Especially when it comes in the form of these heavenly decadent Oreo-stuffed brownies!

Slutty Brownies

Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous in your entire life?

No, neither have I!

But what if I tell you that all you need are 2 boxes of cake mix and 2 packets of Oreos?

Hello, hello…..Are you still here with me dear reader?

Either you’ve completely switched off now, or if you’re still here, read on!

I’ve gone a bit Twitter mad lately. Being off work with a wrist injury means I’ve loads of time for Social Networking. My days, at the minute, consist of gym, facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Forkly and back again. It’s true – Sad, but true.

So anyways…
 I was sat at home the other night, feeling very sorry for myself, waiting for my friends to come round and relieve me of the boredom and monotony, but one by one they let me down. Dont get me wrong – usually they don’t, so we’ll forgive them.
This time.
That left me at home, sat alone with the Oreos.

Trouble.

Big trouble.

And when you have time for trouble and you’re bored, that’s when Twitter steps in.
Two minutes hadn’t passed before my gorgeous, little London -Jewish-Gym-mad- friend Naomi told me about Slutty brownies and how good they were…..

http://www.thelondoner.me/2011/06/slutty-brownies.html

Do I need telling twice? No, I do not!

Oreo filling, on top of cookie dough base mmm
Pouring over the brownie mix…
Finished brownies (Yes, I know HUGE brownies!)

So, Thank you Naomi, from the bottom of my heart, for telling me about these fabulous brownies, for being a sweetheart of a Tweeter and for the constant conversational tweets!

I will make them again….and again….and again……

Nigella’s Snow flecked Brownies

Posted by annauk1 on June 6, 2012
Posted in: brownies, chocolate, Feast, Nigella, Off the Shelf. 20 Comments

My girls, if you’re reading this, one day you will no doubt have need of a really, really good brownie recipe – fudgy, squidgy, chocolatey and with that ‘proper’ crackly top that good brownies have.

Listen to your mother!  I have found just that recipe for you both…..These are just The Best!

I’ve made brownies which are too ‘cake-like’, too under-cooked, too over-cooked, but these beauties really are perfect! And how apt that they come from my most loved cookbook of all time, Nigella Lawson’s awesome masterpiece ‘Feast’.
I have halved Nigella’s recipe, as otherwise it makes far too many (Can one have too many brownies?)

Snow-Flecked Brownies
Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s ‘Feast’.

190g butter
190g dark chocolate
3 eggs
175g Caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
115g plain flour
Half tsp salt
125g white chocolate chips or chunks
icing sugar for dusting.

1. Preheat oven to 160degC (fan oven)

2. Line the sides and base of a small rectangular brownie pan (mine is 24cm x 27cm) with foil or baking parchment.

3. Melt the butter and dark chocolate (I do it in the microwave in short bursts, stopping before the chocolate has completely melted. It finishes melting in the residual heat)

4. In a bowl beat the eggs with the caster sugar and vanilla.

5. Allow the chocolate mixture to cool a little, then add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt, then stir in the white chocolate chips/chunks.

6. Pour the mix into the prepared tin.

7. Bake for 25 minutes.

8. When cool dust with icing sugar.

Fat Witch Brownies

Posted by annauk1 on August 31, 2011
Posted in: brownies, chocolate, Fat Witch Brownies. 11 Comments

Brownies really fit the bill when it comes to wanting something home-made, sweet and chocolatey.
I love the way that you can get that great chocolate high easily and with minimum fuss!
Now that I don’t have as much time on my hands, due to working extra hours, it’s nice that we can still bake, but in a slightly less languorous way.
This was my first recipe from the ‘Fat Witch Brownies’ book. And it definitely won’t be my last! The only slight problem I have is the fact that, being an American book, the butter is measured in sticks and tablespoons, which I find slightly confusing. It’s not too difficult however to find conversions on the internet.

Fat Witch Brownies.


14 tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter.  (I count each tablespoon as 15 g of butter)
Half a cup plus 2 tbsp bittersweet (plain) chocolate chips (I only had milk chocolate chips at home, so used those)
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 lg eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Half a cup plus 2 tbsp plain flour
pinch of salt.

Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan with butter, dust with flour and tap out excess. I generally just line my pan with aluminium foil which I lightly butter, I find the brownies come out really well this way.

1. Melt butter and chocolate in a small pan over a low heat (I do mine slowly in the microwave in short bursts, checking every 20-30 seconds) Set aside to cool.

2. Cream the sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and mix.

3. sift the flour and salt in next, mix the batter gently. Stir in any extras you desire eg walnuts, choc chips.

4. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake for 33 minutes at 350 Deg.F.  or 160 Deg. C in a fan assisted oven.
Mine needed an extra 10 minutes.

5. Cool on a rack for 1 hour…..if you can wait that long…..

Marks out of ten?    9.

Would I make them again?  I’m working my way through the book at the minute….


Would I do anything differently?   No, they’re nigh on perfect.

And yes, I know I swore allegiance to Mary Berry’s brownies a couple of posts ago……. But a girl’s allowed to change her mind, right?


Recipe adapted from ‘Fat Witch Brownies’ by Patricia Helding.

What do you get when you mix up Mary Berry and the Hummingbird bakery?

Posted by annauk1 on August 20, 2011
Posted in: brownies, chocolate, Hummingbird bakery, Mary Berry. 27 Comments

You get my family’s favourite brownies! that’s what.

You may like to skip past this post if you like your brownies very fudgy, bitter and made with lots of extravagantly priced chocolate.

This is not that kind of recipe.

Think of a family-friendly brownie that both children and adults alike will enjoy, made with cocoa powder and chocolate chips, covered with a tangy, creamy chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Heavenly.

Mary Berry’s chocolate chip brownies:


275g softened butter
375g caster sugar
4 large eggs
75g cocoa powder
100g self-raising flour
100g plain chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 180deg. C or 160 deg. C if you have a fan oven.

Grease and line a 12x9inch tray with baking parchment or foil.

Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat until blended.

Spoon mixture into the prepared tin, levelling the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. cover with foil if browning too much towards the end of the cooking time.

Leave to cool in the tin, then remove and cut into 24 squares. (I never, ever get 24 squares, LOL!)

Hummingbird bakery’s chocolate cream cheese frosting:


200g icing sugar, sifted
75g unsalted butter at room temperature
30g cocoa powder, sifted
150g cream cheese, cold.

Beat together the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attatchment on medium-low until mixture has come together.
Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until completely incorporated.
Turn mixer up to medium high, continue beating until frosting is light and fluffy, at least five minutes.

When the brownies are cold, spread the gorgeous frosting over the top.
Scrummy and yummy and gorgeous!