This week is national chocolate week here in the UK. As my boyfriend Neil and I are big fans of the stuff, there is almost always some chocolate hiding somewhere in our fridge or cupboards, begging to be included in the next big baking session! Over the past few days, I have been practically salivating over all the decadent, rich, chocolatey recipes I have come across in the media, not to mention some of the fantastic events that are happening across the county all in the name of chocolate; it appears that we are not alone in our favouritism of the stuff!
One of the most simple yet decadent chocolatey bakes has to be the ever-so-popular chocolate brownie. I find that there are many different preferences where brownies are concerned. Apparently the first chocolate brownies, which were developed at Palmer House Hotel in Chicago at the end of the 18th century, featured an apricot glaze and walnuts however, there are many myths surrounding the creation of this much-loved bake. Today, some people prefer nuts or cherries to be added to the mix, others prefer rich dark chocolate and others argue that creamy milk chocolate brownies are the way forward. I am pretty flexible but one thing I cannot abide is dry, dense, cake-like brownies. A coffee shop I used to work in many years ago used to advertise dry and crumbly pieces of chocolate cake as ‘brownies’ which was a mortal sin in my opinion! Me? I love brownies that are almost under-baked and still warm from the oven. Crisp on top with gooey chunks of chocolate in the middle, the kind of brownies which melt in your mouth and are gone in an instant, leaving your begging for more!
With the above in mind, I thought that I would post a divine recipe for gooey, fudgey, melt in the mouth double chocolate chip brownies based on a recipe from allrecipes.co.uk.
Double Chocolate Chunk Brownies
Makes 12
100g dark chocolate 70% solids
100g white chocolate
2 large eggs, beaten
Half tsp vanilla extract
125g margarine
275g golden caster sugar
50g self-raising flour
25g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1. Grease and line a brownie tin with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Chop or break the white chocolate into large chunks.
3. Measure out the margarine and sugar and cream together in a large bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Add the eggs to the margarine and sugar mixture one at a time, ensuring all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Place a heatproof bowl over a small pan of simmering water. Break up the dark chocolate and place in the bowl, stirring frequently whilst it slowly melts.
6. After all the dark chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
7. Sift both types of flour into the mixing bowl, along with the cocoa powder. Add the melted dark chocolate and combine.
8. Finally, stir in the large chunks of white chocolate and pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Please note that the batter will be fairly rigid and will not pour easily.
9. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before cutting into pieces.
You may wish to check the bake after 30 minutes as ovens do vary! The aim is for brownie to be flakey on top with a gooey chocolate centre. You can test this by using a skewer or tooth pick; unlike a sponge cake there should be some chocolatey residue on the skewer when pushed into the centre of the brownie.
I hope you enjoy the above recipe. I recently made these brownies for a colleague who said that they disappeared pretty quickly; they certainly don’t hang about in our house for very long! Here’s to chocolate week, more decadent recipes to follow!
Be sure to check out my other brownie related posts here and here!
