Wednesday, 9 January 2013

Home made goodness!

As promised In my previous post, I'm revealing the simple  Fudgy 
brownie recipe..  I will be talking about the secret Ingredient that 
makes it gooey and chewy as well! 

My take on Fudgy Brownies..




Brownies are the easiest to bake and and If done right, can make you a  star overnight. Often, people think otherwise :-O

My very first oven project was making a small batch of Brownies. You will be surprised If I tell you that it takes only 15 min to put together all the Ingredients. Literally, the time it takes to preheat your oven.. One Important thing I love about baking Brownies is, It just takes one bowl for the preparation! So, there is little mess to clear up !! 

How cool is that? Trust me, it's super easy..

So here we go..Revealing the secret to a great BROWNIE recipe :) 


Ingredients

3/4 Cup All purpose Flour.
150 gms good baking chocolate ( I use Ghiradelli or Valrhona ) 
1/4C Cocoa powder ( Good baking cocoa, quaity does matter) 
1C Semi sweet chocolate ( Vanhoutten or  hersheys or Ghiradelli) 
3 Eggs 
1.5 tsps of Vanilla essence ( I use Madagascar Bourbon pure extract) 
1/4 tsp of salt 
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar or white sugar If you have a sweet 
tooth please make it 1 Cup packed.
1/2 Cup butter 
3/4 Cup of chopped walnuts  ( If you fancy the texture) 
Now my secret Ingredient 
1/2 cup of condensed milk.. yes, you read it right! I use 
milk maid brand, you could use any brand of your choice..



Method 


Please bring the Ingredients to room temperature before stating work! 

Step 1 : Preheat the oven at 175 deg C for 10 min 
step 2 : Melt the butter and and chopped chocolate in the microwave on high 
            for a minute. Make sure you use a big glass bowl, so that we can 
            make the batter in the same bowl! saves the cleaning time:)    
step 3 : Using a balloon whisk mix the melted butter and chocolate into a 
            super smooth paste. 
step 4: Check the temperature. If the mixture has cooled down, add the eggs.
           You don;t want to scramble your eggs in the mixture. So, make sure 
           to check the temperature. Also, add one egg at a time  mix well and          
           then add the next till you get a fluffy, thick batter. The trick is, to lift
           the whisk above the bowl. If the batter drops down like a ribbon then
           the mixture is perfect..
step 5: 1.5 tsps of good vanilla essence. I use Bourbon Madagascar Pure 
           vanilla extract. 
step 6: Add the condensed milk to this secret Ingredient .. and mix well.. 

Remember we are still using the same bowl! 

step7: Sift the dry Ingredients into the batter and make sure the dry stuff is 
          Incorporated well into the batter. Take care not to OVERMIX as it will 
          result in tough brownies..
Step 8: Add in the nuts ( If needed)  I dust it will a couple of pinches of flour 
           and throw it into the batter and give it a  swift whisk.
step 9: I butter & line my nonstick 9x13 inch pan and pour half of the batter.

AT THIS STAGE, YOU COULD GO CRAZY WITH YOUR IMAGINATION. I SOMETIMES THROW IN A CUP OF WHITE CHOCO CHIPS OR MARSHMALLOWS OR EVEN CARAMEL BITS OR SMARTIES EVENLY INTO THE BATTER and top up with the left over batter. If your guests like surprises then this tip is very valuable :)   

step 10: Bake exactly for about 30 to 40 min ( depending on the oven). I do a 
             a tooth pick test at 30 min. If there I see little crumbs clinging on 
            the toothpick. Its done. Make sure not to over bake as it tends to dry
            up the brownies. 
step 11: Cool the brownies slab for half an hour cover and refrigerate for an 
             hour before slicing. This will give you clean sharp edges..

TIP: Even If you dry them up the first time.. never mind freeze the bars and break them up and add it to your Ice cream with some Hersheys chocolate syrup.. It surely does make it look extra special.. But, you and I know the secret!!  Happy Baking Guys!! 


I will be showing my gift ideas for Brownies In my next post !  Cheers! 


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