Wednesday 8 July 2015

My Loaded Brownies


These were the brownies I was talking about. The one that needed a re-shoot. Brownies were the first thing I baked when I made a decision one fateful day in 2011 to start baking. From what I read, brownies are the easiest bakes ever and novice bakers should start with a brownie. And that's what I did.



After watching countless videos on Joy of Baking, I baked my first brownie. It was rather historic for me because up until then, I was never interested in baking. I used to help my auntie when she baked but even that did not spark any interest in me. In fact, whenever I watched cooking shows on TV, I would immediately switch channels when baking shows came on.



So why the change of heart? It is a long story and you can read about it here. In a way, baking saved my life. I have since graduated to cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, cookies and God knows what hah..hah... This is my first brownie post because all these years I have not been able to take a decent photo of my brownies.



Quite a while back, I chanced upon an Apple Walnut Brownie in the cookbook In Love With Cakes. But that brownie never came to fruition due to lack of ingredients. When I had apples, I did not have walnuts. And when I had walnuts, I had no apples. So I got fed up. And decided to substitute apples and walnuts with this :



I know. This is not a healthy thing to do. But hey, there wasn't a single apple in the house, alright? And so my Loaded Brownies was born. After all, I have seen people stuffing Ferrero Rocher, caramel, cream cheese and whatnot into their brownies with wonderful results. 


Chocolate and butter.
Anyway, I got to know about this Cadbury chocolate when I read Yen's post. And when I walked into 99 Speedmart, the chocolate bar was staring at me. Apa lagi? Buy! Buy! Buy!


Melt the whole lot over a pot of simmering water.
But I met with some obstacles while gathering my ingredients. My kitchen scale ran out of battery. OK, I have spare ones in the drawer but when I removed the old battery, I realised that it was a square 9V battery and not two AA sized batteries. Drat!

Luckily I have a spare kitchen scale, my old faithful which I purchased from Tesco many years ago for a mere RM15.00. It works fine except that the on/off button is defective. I have to press really hard for it to turn on.


Chop the apple and walnut substitute into chunks hee..hee...
Then when I got to my flour, I noticed that it had gone funky. Double drat! There was a grey layer of stuff over it and I had to throw the whole lot. Luckily I had a spare packet of flour. Saved! After that, it was smooth sailing.


Fold into the brownie batter.
So this is what I did before I mixed the chocolate into the brownie batter. I chopped it up into small chunks. And before I did that, I put the chocolate bar into the fridge because in our tropical heat, the chocolate melts and it would have been a very messy and sticky affair.


Pour batter into lined pan and bake!
It is very important not to overbake a brownie. Always err on the side of underbaking. Don' wait until the skewer inserted into the center comes out completely clean.  Once the top is set and the skewer comes out with some moist crumbs stuck to it, stop!



Now let me tell you  little secret. When I slice a brownie, I always reserve the center piece for myself because that is the best slice. It is very soft and moist. And I tell you, only one word is worthy of that slice of brownie I bit into - ECSTASEH! Gawd! It was so sinfully good. Packed full of chocolaty greatness. This is a bake worthy of an encore or two. Try it!












Loaded Chocolate Chunk Brownies
Recipe sources : Adapted from In Love with Cakes (page 97)

Ingredients :
- 120g butter
- 160g dark chocolate
- 2 large eggs
- 30g brown sugar (if you have a sweet tooth, you need to add more. I find that the chocolate chunks are quite sweet and therefore I reduced the sugar)
- 70g self raising flour (sifted)
-1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 bar (160g) Cadbury, chopped into small chunks

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 160C and line an 8" square pan with baking paper.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over a simmering pot of water. Set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cinnamon powder and eggs till well combined.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the chocolate/butter mixture and stir till well combined.
5. Add flour a little at a time, and gently fold into the batter until just combined. Do not overmix.
6. Fold in the chopped chocolate chunks.
7. Pour batter into the baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie comes out with a bit of crumbs sticking to it. Do not overbake! (Mine was done in 20 minutes).
8. Cool the brownie on a baking rack.




This post is also linked to Cook Your Books #25 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.

42 comments:

  1. When I see the word loaded, I think of potato skins already! I miss your loaded potato skins with sour cream, yummmmzzz... Oh yes, I agree with you, brownies are easy to make.. Stir and bake only.. No need whisk, no need beat.. No need worry rise or sink, I also like..I love your brownies so so much, but I still prefer to eat my Cadbury chocolates like it is, kekeke..

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    1. Hi Louiz! I remember your cream cheese brownies which I have yet to try. Yup, brownies are so easy to bake. Anytime feel like having some, can just easily prepare and enjoy!

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  2. I loves brownie, cannot resist the temptation, hehe...

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    1. Me too. Especially nice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

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  3. Nooo!!! This means I have jumped the gun by a million miles! No wonder I fail miserably!

    Okay maybe next I should really start all over again with a brownie. From your descriptions, brownie = underbaked cake, sounds easy... :D

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    1. No lah, not necessary to start with a brownie. You did OK mah? :D But yah, you can try baking a brownie and I think it will make you happy :)

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  4. Glad you're pleased with your brownies reshoot...they certainly look photogenic! ;D I clicked your old post and I'm glad that blogging and baking keeps you happy....so keep on blogging and baking, my dear :) Blogging lifts my spirit too at times!

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    1. Thank you, Kris! It's really hard to shoot anything brown or black :( I'll definitely keep baking and blogging as these activities bring me lots of joy! Glad to know that blogging lifts your spirit too :)

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  5. Salivating again!! Sinfully delicious....in fact I took one brownie in a heated pan with one scoop of vanilla ice cream just two days ago... The brownie just melt in the mouth...oh man! PH, I can understand you describing the centre part pretty well!!!

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    1. Aiyo Claire! Warm brownie with vanilla ice cream is da bomb! I should do that with my next brownie hah..hah...

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  6. What a lively post! I enjoyed every line. It read very much like a mystery comedy in a kitchen. I love it!

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  7. Your loaded brownie is so perfectly baked. I love brownie actually. I love having it a scoop of ice-cream. It is heavenly tasty.

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    1. Yannie, I had a warm brownie with ice cream at a restaurant not too long ago. But their brownie was on the dry side. I must buy vanilla ice cream!

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  8. Looks very good, you know that I have never made so far any brownie:)

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    1. What? No brownie? Ola, bake one and eat with ice cream!

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  9. I can see the chocolate in your brownie! I wish I could get to eat a piece of your brownie, it looks so good and tempting, Without reading the post about your depression, you do not sound like someone who had depression. You are always cheerful and funny. I too came out from depression, could not smile and did not see any meaning in life. That was a long time ago. Now I can say I am out of it when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord. Since then life has been meaningful, full of laughter, fun and joy and depression no longer holds me!

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    1. Nancy, I am happy to know that you have found salvation in the Lord. I too turn to God when the dark clouds come.

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  10. Hi Phong Hong, baking brownies is something that I wanted to do but somehow I have not baked one for years, why? No idea at all. Honestly I like chocolate brownies especially those with lots of nuts. Must give this a try.

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    1. Hi Kimmy! Yes, one day bake a brownie. It goes really well with vanilla ice cream hah..hah...

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  11. You bet! I read line by line, very slowly and heard my tummy growling instead!
    I do like brownies very much as they taste like in between a cake and a bar of chocolate to me.
    You should keep the centre part and give me all the sides as I love the burnt crusty brownies!
    These brownies are so easy to make yet shops are selling so expensive and laughing the way to their banks.

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    1. Hi TM! Yes, brownies are so expensive at the cafes and bakeries. Best to bake at home since it so easy.

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  12. Whoa..I love brownies. Thanks for sharing the recipe. i will attemp this...

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    1. Hi there! Yes, do bake some brownies. They are so good warm and especially so with ice cream!

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  13. Wow!!! Can't remember the last time I had had brownies... Not buying any from outside, too sweet.

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    1. Those from outside are quite pricey too. Best to bake at home. Hey, you can bake this! hee..hee..

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  14. Hi Phong Hong, your loaded brownies very inviting. Great to go with coffee. I haven't bake brownies for the longest time....don't know since when?? hahaha....

    Have a nice week ahead,regards.
    Amelia

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    1. Hi Amelia! I love brownies because they are uncomplicated. Very good for lazy days hah..hah.... Weekend is coming, so have a great weekend!

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  15. Phong Hong,
    Well, I could tell that your Loaded Chocolate Chunk Brownies is so moist and chocolatey :D
    Top with a big scoop of vanilla ice-cream. .. shiok !

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    1. Karen, will top with vanilla ice cream next time!

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  16. really??? brownies is actually for the beginners?? i didn't know that.. i always thought brownies is something not simple, and i am always mistaken that the beginners always start with baking pound cake or butter cake only.. so brownies are actually even simpler?? or maybe this is just the Baking Queen's standard?? :D

    ooh, i love brownies!! brownies is one of the few "chocolate byproducts" that i fancy.. i mean, i love eating chocolates but i really do not fancy chocolate-made stuffs such as chocolate ice-cream, chocolate cake, chocolate flavored milk etc.. unless unless unless, they are really rich and chocolatey like eating chocolate itself.. those cheapo chocolate byproducts with little trace of chocolates used are mostly tasting like roaches, if you know what i mean, hahaha!!

    so it's that easy?? i have also watched clips on youtube that we can even make brownies using microwave.. it's just that few ingredients and couple of minutes in the microwave and done, how amazing!! but watching those clips are easy, want me to bake, i'd rather say, go outside buy and makan aje lah, hahahahaha!!!

    so there are actually two types of chocolates used!! one for baking, and another one you chopped into chunks from the Cadbury bar.. now it gets me wonder, why are the Cadbury chocolates melting into the brownies?? i can still see chunks of them clearly in the brownies, that's unbelievable!! there are nuts and also chocolate "chips", perfect combination that is.. and now, i am thinking of getting that bar of Cadbury and makan just like that.. 99 speedmart huh?? RM7.49 is considered cheap comparing to many other supermarkets..

    same here.. i always love those in the middle and i do not like those by the edge, same to roti also.. the center one must be the best, i agree with you.. it's sure the most moist of all other pieces.. so is that piece in the photo?? or already gone into you stomach long before you start taking photo?? hehehe.. :p

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    1. What?! You don't fancy chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake or chocolate milk? I think you haven't tasted a good proper chocolate cake/ice cream/milk, that's why! Those cheap chocolate products of course lah don't taste good. But like roaches??? hah,,hah...I haven't tasted those before :D

      The chocolate chunks actually melt in the brownie but they still maintain their shape, That's why you can see them clearly.

      The prices at 99 speedmart is much cheaper than elsewhere. That's why I buy from there lah. About the middle piece of brownie, it's not in the photo because boh liao hah..hah...

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  17. I find brownies too sweet for me. Once an American friend baked a brownie and gave us and we ate a slice and found it to be too sweet and took it to the office to let other colleagues finish it. Yours look really good, must be sweet too, right? Sweeter than the normal chocolate cake.

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    1. Mun, Americans consume a lot of sugar and the amount of sugar they put into a cake/brownie can make us faint! I usually reduce sugar by 50% when using American recipes, so my brownie won't be too sweet for you.

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  18. Brownie with a history. ;)

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  19. Thank you for the mention! Love moist brownies.

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    1. No worries, Yen! If not for your post, I would have missed out on the yummy Cadbury chocolate!

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  20. hmm..i must go and chk out that cadbury bar too!

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    1. hah..hah...Lena, it is also nice eaten straight from the package :D

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  21. Hi Phong Hong,
    Loaded brownies!! My kids would go ga-ga over the chocolate in it! Brownies are a favourite in my house! My kids told me to add as much chocolate as possible, I told them, might as well eat the chocolate direct from the package! Hahaha! Moist brownies are the way to go! Delish

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    1. Hi Joyce! Yes, I think this brownie will be a hit with your kids. It's not the same eating chocolate direct from the package hah..hah...

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