Chocolatey Goodness
June is supposed to bring with it the joys of Summer, unfortunately it feels like we have been put through a time machine and have landed up a few month ahead into the gloomy and wet coldness of November. The only source of comfort is in the home and the hearth. So, to keep warm I could think of nothing better that cranking up the oven and baking so the house smells warm and sweet and buttery.
I ticked one other Nigella Lawson recipe today, the chocolate and walnut brownies.
Apart from following the recipe to the tee I did a little temperature tweaking advised to me by my friend cum lil-sis who is a pastry chef.
So here's the recipe :
375 g soft unsalted butter
375 g best quality dark chocolate
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
500 g caster sugar
225 g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
300 g chopped walnut
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4. Line your brownie pan - I think it's worth lining the sides as well as the base.
Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large heavy based pan. In a bowl or wide- mouthed measuring jug, beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla. Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt.
When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool a bit before beating in the eggs and sugar, and then the nuts and flour. Beat to combine smoothly and then scrape out of the saucepan into the lined pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes (I baked mine for slightly longer). When it 's ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown speckle, but the middle is still dark, dense and gooey. Even with such a big batch you need to keep alert, keep checking: the difference between gungy brownies and dry brownies is only a few minutes; remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.
The little change I made was, I preheated the oven to 370 F and baked it for 5-7 mins then I reduced the temperature to 350F, this ensures the crusty top and gooey middle.
I ticked one other Nigella Lawson recipe today, the chocolate and walnut brownies.
Apart from following the recipe to the tee I did a little temperature tweaking advised to me by my friend cum lil-sis who is a pastry chef.So here's the recipe :
375 g soft unsalted butter
375 g best quality dark chocolate
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
500 g caster sugar
225 g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
300 g chopped walnut
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4. Line your brownie pan - I think it's worth lining the sides as well as the base.
Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large heavy based pan. In a bowl or wide- mouthed measuring jug, beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla. Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt.
When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool a bit before beating in the eggs and sugar, and then the nuts and flour. Beat to combine smoothly and then scrape out of the saucepan into the lined pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes (I baked mine for slightly longer). When it 's ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown speckle, but the middle is still dark, dense and gooey. Even with such a big batch you need to keep alert, keep checking: the difference between gungy brownies and dry brownies is only a few minutes; remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.
The little change I made was, I preheated the oven to 370 F and baked it for 5-7 mins then I reduced the temperature to 350F, this ensures the crusty top and gooey middle.
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