Yum, yum! Brownies, anyone?

Mmmm....

While I was on holiday, I came across this recipe for chocolate brownies, which was supposed to be very quick, easy and tasty. 

So, of course, I had to try it out!

* * *

Quick Chocolate Brownies

230g Dark Chocolate - 140g broken up and smashed into chunks

125g butter

250g sugar

1tsp vanilla essence

90g plain flour

2 eggs, at room temperature

pinch salt (if using unsalted butter)

20cm/8" square tin, lined

Melt the butter and 90g chocolate (the bit you didn't smash up!) in a bowl over hot water, or in a microwave (heat for 10-15 seconds, then stir, repeat until chocolate is melting, then stir until it has completely melted. This avoids burning the chocolate by over-heating).

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, flour and salt (if using). 

Blend this with the melted chocolate mixture, to a smooth batter. 

Add the chocolate chunks and stir well.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake at 180 degrees C for 10-12 mins, until a skewer or sharp knife comes out clean. 

Cool completely, then remove from tin and cut into pieces.

* * *

The Verdict

The cakes seemed to take much longer to cook, than the 10-12 mins in the recipe.  This may have been the fault of my oven, which I suspect is not very good any more (other things have taken too long before, though they were big things).  It may also have been because I used chilled eggs... who knows? 

Anyway, once the brownies were obviously cooked, I left them in the tin on a rack, to cool down completely.

Even when cold, if you look at the photo above, you'll see that the chocolate was all runny.  They were really more like chocolate puddings, than chocolate brownies.  We did sample two, but ate them from a bowl, with custard!!

They tasted like brownies - in fact, they were really yummy - but we wanted Real Brownies, with that nice texture they have...

So, I put the whole tin into the fridge for an hour or two. 

Then I took them out and removed the paper:

They had the right sort of texture once chilled...

They had that lovely crackly top, like Real Brownies...

They looked and tasted just like Chocolate Brownies.

 

We tried a couple today, after storing them in a plastic box at room temperature.  They still taste like proper Chocolate Brownies, so I reckon they're okay!

I'm not sure why they took so long to cook - about 18-20 mins in the end - but if you try this recipe (and I really think you should!!), do follow the recipe time for your skewer test and only leave them longer if they're obviously not cooked yet.  However, I am pleased that, despite the minor hiccups and the necessary chilling time, these have come out wonderfully and taste great.

Definitely worth a try - the mixture was so quick to make and it was fun too!  I think I'll add some chopped walnuts (or similar) next time - I like brownies with nuts in.

Now then, where's the coffee, I need another Brownie!