~ ICHIGO, ICHIE ~: Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies

After experimenting with quite a number of brownie recipes, I still couldn't find one that would give me the kind of brownies that I have in mind (sth like the Secret Recipe one, or made by Aunt Civera). I like it kinda fudgy but not too fudgy that it become too chewy.

I don't quite like the one from Edmund's (located at SMU Kopitiam). That's what I mean by too chewy. The one from the cake shop Royals is too dry and cakey, it doesn't deserve to be called brownies. The one from Brownies Factory at Taka (I've only tried the normal one tho) is too sweet. But according to Cheryl, the Double Fudge Brownie (or sth lyk tt) is really nice. I should try that some time.

Anyways, I wasn't planning to give up. So I google for more brownie recipes and I stumbled upon Jamie Oliver's website. Dang, why didn't I think of his website. So stoops of me. I've visited Nigella and Martha's webbies for recipes before but didn't think of Jamie's. My idol Jamie. How could I forget him? *shakes head*

But better late than never. Actually, I was a bit apprehensive when trying out this recipe, firstly cuz the amount of choc that goes into it is like really A LOT and requires more ingredients than usual (as in the qty). So if I failed, it'll be quite a waste. And, the amount of flour is like really little, I couldn't help but wonder if there was a typo. However, in the end I brazed myself to try it out.

First glitch, I forgot to use double boil when melting the butter and choc and it got a bit burned. Second glitch, I forgot to whisk the egg beforehand and I've already mixed all the other ingredients. I don't know what happend but after returning from whisking the egg, the batter became super sticky I had to use alot of effort to mix the egg in. At that point, I thought, "That's it. Another failure."

But well, since I've started might as well finish it. And am I glad I didn't throw the batter away. It turned out PERFECTO! Well maybe not totally perfect perfect, but it was really brilliant! It was fudgy and super chocolatey. My sis who until now refuses to take more than 2 bites of what I've baked (she's real picky) totally fell in love with this brunette beauty. She even told me that I shouldn't share it with my friends so she could eat all. My bro who doesn't really have a sweet tooth also said it was really nice and asked for seconds and brought it to his office to share. I was sooo happy! =D

So yea, here's the recipe.

Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies

from Jamie Oliver's webbie

What's in it:
250g unsalted butter

200g dark Fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up

optional: 75g dried sour cherries

optional: 50g chopped nuts

80g cocoa powder, sifted

65g plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

360g caster sugar

4 large free-range or organic eggs

optional: zest of 1 orange

optional: 250ml crème fraîche

How to concoct it:
Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the cherries and nuts, if you’re using them, and stir together. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, cherry and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares. These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with some orange zest.

With chopped Brazil nuts

Since the pans that I have are smaller than the required one, i split them up to 2 pans. But I still I think u shud get a bigger one that the one mentioned. Cuz after splitting the batter (it's not exactly halved) I found the thickeness is just nice. Unless u like ur brownies to be real thick.