Another fabulous winter recipe is this one for decadent brownies from Nigel Slaters iconic Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen ($45.99, Fourth Estate). This is the basic recipe - add whatever nuts/dried fruit you feel would make it shine for you. Our most serious recommendation? Bring your friendly local booksellers a piece or two... Youll need: 300g soft brown sugar, 250g butter; 250g chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids, Whittakers Dark Ghana works a treat but fiddle with different %s until it is right for you, I like half Dark Ghana, half Dark Block (50%) - not just cos then you have half of each 250g block left over for emergencies); 3 large eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk; 60g flour; 60g finest quality cocoa powder; ½ tsp baking powder. Its a generous recipe, use a 23x23cm, preferably non-stick, pan or a small roasting tin, lined with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Break the chocolate into pieces, set 50g of it aside and melt the rest in a bowl suspended over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water. As soon as the chocolate has melted remove it from the heat. Chop the remaining 50g into gravel-sized pieces. Beat the sugar and butter using electric beaters for several minutes until white and fluffy. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix in a pinch of salt. Holding the beaters on a low speed, introduce the beaten egg a little at a time, having him speed up in between additions. Remove the bowl from the mixer to the work surface, then mix in the melted and the chopped chocolate with a large metal spoon. Lastly, fold in the flour and cocoa, gently and firmly, without knocking any of the air out. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes. The top will have risen slightly and the cake will appear slightly softer in the middle than around the edges. Pierce the centre of the cake with a fork - it should come out sticky, but not with raw mixture attached to it. If it does, then return the brownie to the oven for three more minutes. It is worth remembering that it will solidify a little on cooling, so if it appears a bit wet, dont worry. - you want that brownie wodginess.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 23:00:01 +0000
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