Brownies

Hello. I'm having a hard time deciding on a new design for this blog. I haven't posted in a while, naughty me, as I've been waiting to post to a brand new 'look'. But it hasn't happened. I have managed to do something though. Make Brownies? Yep.

I've eaten brownies before, but never actually made any. They seemed boring to me. I chose to bake some after tasting a batch made by a friend of a friend, who hardly ever bakes! Her's tasted so good (to the point I wondered if she'd bought them) that I thought, if a stranger-to-baking can produce brownies like those, then so can I! So. These were nice enough with a satisfying chocolate and cocoa hit. However, since delving into the world of brownies, I've discovered they seem to fall roughly into two types. The cake-type brownie or the fudge-type brownie. I found the texture of these to be more of the 'cakey' type than the 'fudgy' type. Neither is wrong or right – I just prefer the fudgy type with a slight crisp crust.
So, not bad, but I need to try again. Just for me  :-)

Nice Brownies
150 g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
175 g caster sugar
3 eggs
60 g plain chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
50 g cashew nuts, raw (optional)
1½ tsp vanilla extract
60 g plain flour
60 g cocoa powder (I used Green & Blacks Organic Cocoa)
1½ tsp baking powder


Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a 20cm/8in square cake tin with baking paper.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add your eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Sit the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Remove the bowl from the heat and gently combine the chocolate into your mixture. Chop your cashew nuts, if using and fold into the mixture. (I tend to break my cashews down by putting them in a food bag and bashing with a rolling-pin. That's the fun part). Add the vanilla extract.

Add your flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix until well combined. The mixture should be quite viscous looking. Spoon it into the tin and spread evenly with the back of a metal spoon.

Bake in your oven for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for ten minutes before removing. To serve, cut into rectangles and dust with icing sugar. Voilà.