The brownie diaries
Unsurprisingly perhaps I can't seem to stop thinking about brownies at the moment. So, what better to do than to subject you my dear readers to those same thoughts. We'll start with the recipe, but even if you're not interested, I suggest you read on as I'll follow with my usual discursive and amusing ramblings (which is what you're here for right?)
The name: We got the recipe from a friend named Kirk, and I suppose the "Captain" part was a fairly automatic addition. No actual Star Trek connection that I'm aware of.
Ingredients: There are a number of issues to address here -
It must be admitted that (except for the mixing bit), the baking is the one part of this recipe where things can go awry.
What, after all, is the perfect brownie? The perfect brownie can be held in the hand without sticking, but is sufficiently soft, gooey and luscious on the inside that you're always worried that it might stick.
On the one hand that suggests a hot oven in order to get a crispy outside without overcooking the inside. But, on the other hand, brownie batter is quite dense and so in order to get the inside cooked without burning the outside, a less hot oven would be indicated. What a predicament!
The perfect solution perhaps would be to go with a hotter oven, let the edges and corners overcook slightly, and then trim the overcooked bits away. As well as being fiddly, that seems wasteful (though, you could crumble up the edge bits and mix them with vanilla ice cream ...) The temperature and timings suggested in the recipe seem to be "right" for most ovens. But, you will need to allow for variation and be prepared for one or more less than perfect batches as you narrow down the "sweet spot".
Determining whether the brownies are done is also a bit of an art rather than a science. The toothpick test is no good, since if the toothpick comes out clean, the brownies are already too dry. Basically the middle of the brownies should be just slightly elastic when you press it.
An alternative solution, to the whole baking dilemma, available only to those of us who are not resident in third world countries like the U.S.A., and who don't therefore have to worry about salmonella is simply to dispense with the baking altogether and eat the batter with a spoon.
If things go wrong: There are really only two things that can go wrong. You might undercook the brownies, or you might overcook them. In computer science parlance, undercooking is a feature, not a bug. O.k. you need a spoon or something to eat the brownies, but that's not a big problem. And, if they're not cut up into regular pieces it's harder for onlookers to notice just how many you've eaten.
Overcooking is a more serious issue. But, don't panic -- there are many fine things that can be done with slightly dry brownies. The simplest, alluded to above, is to chop them up and mix them with ice cream (or whipped cream if that's your thing). A slightly more sophisticated approach, which relies on having a few extra ingredients handy is to make a sort of mock Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte. Split the brownies in half making two thin slices (or if you're greedy, just use two brownies). Spread on some cherry conserve (or other fruity jam), along with some whipped cream. Make a sandwich of the result, and add some whipped cream and a cherry on top. Finally, if the brownies are to be served to adults, a little dash of rum will moisten them up nicely.
I'm sure that you can come up with variations of your own ...
Next time, photographic evidence.
Captain Kirk's Brownies
Ingredients- 2 cups sugar
- 225 g (8 oz) unsalted butter (melted)
- 4 eggs
- 4 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/3 cups (about 215 g) flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 cup cocoa
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- In a large bowl combine the sugar and melted butter
- Beat the eggs lightly, and stir them into the sugar/butter mixture along with the vanilla
- Mix in the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa) stirring just until everything is combined
- Stir in the chocoate chips
- Pour into two 20 cm (8 inch) square pans (or equivalent) and spread out fairly evenly
- Bake at 180 C (350 F) for about 30 minutes
The name: We got the recipe from a friend named Kirk, and I suppose the "Captain" part was a fairly automatic addition. No actual Star Trek connection that I'm aware of.
Ingredients: There are a number of issues to address here -
- In the matter of nuts. Certain people, myself included, feel that the addition of some chopped walnuts (say about 1/2 cup) to a brownie batter is a fine thing. Even pecans, or hazelnuts (marginal), but certainly not peanuts. Others though feel equally strongly that nuts in brownies are an anathema, on a par with peas or mushrooms (or, shudder, both) in plain rice. And of course when making industrial quantities of the brownies for some event or another there will inevitably be those who have, or believe they have, an allergy to nuts. So, on the nut front, it's up to you.
- I did not hear anybody mention raisins.
- If you must use salted butter, then reduce the salt a bit. How much? How should I know? I've never bought salted butter except by accident or when there wasn't a choice.
- Real vanilla essence please. I can't imagine I have any readers who would think otherwise.
- And likewise of course cocoa. I shudder to think what might ensue if one tried to use Nestle's Quik or similar product.
- And most important of all, chocolate. Now there's an unfortunate recent trend for the chocolate manufacturers to sell chocolate chips, which they specifically advertise will hold their shape when baked. You don't want these! The whole point is for the chocolate to melt and contribute to the luscious gooiness of the brownie centre (... mmmm .... brownies .... mmmm .... oh, where was I ...). So, if your local grocery is unable to supply such chips (or bits) you have a few choices. The easiest, is to buy chocolate buttons which are designed to melt (but are too large to be used whole in this recipe). Run them through a blender or food processor briefly to chop them down to size (you could try actually melting them -- but I'm not sure that would give the right effect). Alternatively, you could go all Jamie Oliver and go down to the nearest pretentious and overpriced chocolatier, buy a 1kg block of some ridiculously expensive chocolate, and chop bits off yourself. Your call.
- It should go without saying that you can add more chocolate than the recipe calls for. My default amount is nearer to 1 1/2 cups than 1 cup. Adding extra cocoa is probably ok, but some care might be required here because of the liquid/dry ratios.
- You can make a half recipe (but, duhh, why?) However, it's probably best not to try to increase the quantities significantly owing to the issue of mixing (see below), unless you're a trained professional (with access to a professional's equipment.)
- Sifting the dry ingredients into the wet ones is suggested. It's a bit of a pain, and means one more item to wash, but it does make a difference to the texture (and makes it easier to mix.)
- At each stage the mixing should be gentle, and just until everything is combined. Hand mixing is strongly recommended. Obviously, you don't want stray bits of flour, cocoa, or pockets of melted butter about, but overmixing leads to a tough brownie.
- I did mention you could add more chocolate right?
- If you have non-stick pans then there's no real reason to grease them. However, given the desired consistency of the end product (see below), any sticking is a disaster. So, I usually adopt a belt and braces approach and grease the pans in advance (besides, you have all the wrappers from the butter to do it with).
It must be admitted that (except for the mixing bit), the baking is the one part of this recipe where things can go awry.
What, after all, is the perfect brownie? The perfect brownie can be held in the hand without sticking, but is sufficiently soft, gooey and luscious on the inside that you're always worried that it might stick.
On the one hand that suggests a hot oven in order to get a crispy outside without overcooking the inside. But, on the other hand, brownie batter is quite dense and so in order to get the inside cooked without burning the outside, a less hot oven would be indicated. What a predicament!
The perfect solution perhaps would be to go with a hotter oven, let the edges and corners overcook slightly, and then trim the overcooked bits away. As well as being fiddly, that seems wasteful (though, you could crumble up the edge bits and mix them with vanilla ice cream ...) The temperature and timings suggested in the recipe seem to be "right" for most ovens. But, you will need to allow for variation and be prepared for one or more less than perfect batches as you narrow down the "sweet spot".
Determining whether the brownies are done is also a bit of an art rather than a science. The toothpick test is no good, since if the toothpick comes out clean, the brownies are already too dry. Basically the middle of the brownies should be just slightly elastic when you press it.
An alternative solution, to the whole baking dilemma, available only to those of us who are not resident in third world countries like the U.S.A., and who don't therefore have to worry about salmonella is simply to dispense with the baking altogether and eat the batter with a spoon.
If things go wrong: There are really only two things that can go wrong. You might undercook the brownies, or you might overcook them. In computer science parlance, undercooking is a feature, not a bug. O.k. you need a spoon or something to eat the brownies, but that's not a big problem. And, if they're not cut up into regular pieces it's harder for onlookers to notice just how many you've eaten.
Overcooking is a more serious issue. But, don't panic -- there are many fine things that can be done with slightly dry brownies. The simplest, alluded to above, is to chop them up and mix them with ice cream (or whipped cream if that's your thing). A slightly more sophisticated approach, which relies on having a few extra ingredients handy is to make a sort of mock Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte. Split the brownies in half making two thin slices (or if you're greedy, just use two brownies). Spread on some cherry conserve (or other fruity jam), along with some whipped cream. Make a sandwich of the result, and add some whipped cream and a cherry on top. Finally, if the brownies are to be served to adults, a little dash of rum will moisten them up nicely.
I'm sure that you can come up with variations of your own ...
Next time, photographic evidence.
Labels: cooking
posted by Michael Albert at 1:56 pm
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