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Friday 6 February 2009

A Delightful Gift of A Book & Homemade Chocolate Brownies


I’m not sure if you recall that I was delighted to celebrate with a ‘dear’ Blogging friend Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen her very first year of blogging? If you would like to refresh yourself with my post and view photos of my baked Hummingbird Cake and where the recipe originated from please click [here].

I am extremely honoured to announce that with 60 outstanding entries that Aparna received from around the Blogosphere my Hummingbird Cake won her judges over!!! No one was more flabbergasted than I that my cake had been chosen to win!! I am also the proud and very fortunate recipient of Asha Khatau’s Vegetarian Cuisines of the World cookbook, which was the winning prize for one sweet/ dessert submission for this event. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to send my many thanks to you Aparna for such a wonderful book. I am totally in awe of it with so many beautiful recipes. Your personal inscription in the front cover of the book, letter and beautiful bookmark are very touching and I feel extremely privileged to have received this gift! I have a few recipes already bookmarked that I would like to try out first. My many thanks once again to you Aparna - Hugs & kisses Rosie.



My love affair of homemade chocolate brownies began only a few years back. This came about after purchasing Nigel Slater’s, The Kitchen Diaries cookbook when it first came out in print. I was drawn like a moth towards light when I discovered Nigel’s 24-carat brownie recipe, which by the way is phenomenal! I enjoyed that gooey centre with an intense chocolate flavour, which a brownie always seems to deliver. Although these brownies are not Nigel’s they are definitely good with a hint of added coffee to enhance the chocolate flavour. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream it makes a perfect dessert to revel in!


Chocolate Brownies

Makes 24 pieces
Ingredients
100g (4 oz) unsalted butter + extra for greasing
200g (8 oz) dark chocolate 70% coco solids, broken up
250g (9 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1tsp strong brewed coffee, cooled
60g (2 ½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
60g (2 ½ oz) cocoa powder

Method

Preheat the oven 180°C/fan160°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease and base line a 20.5cm x 25.5cm (10 in x 10 in) brownie or baking tin.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt over a bowl of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat to slightly cool a little until required. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time, and then add the vanilla extract and cooled coffee beating in. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture and carefully fold in until all incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top over with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes until firm but fudgy – the chocolate will continue to cook a little more removed from the oven. They are meant to be gooey in the middle – it’s what makes them so gorgeous! Put the tin on a wire to cool a little more before cutting into pieces. Delicious eaten with Vanilla ice cream!


I leave you with a few more pics of the snow we have here.


25 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Congratulations Rosie on winning. I will have to try your Hummingbird Cake because I have been hearing the buzz:D

Rosie said...

*Giggle that buzz sure does travel* ;0)

Thank you Val the Hummingbird Cake is a lovely easy one to make and packs a great flavour :0)

Best wishes Rosie x

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Congrats! The Brownies look terrific!

Cheers,

Rosa

Recipeswap said...

Hey Rosie.congrats on winning the book.Will def look at the humminbird cake again.Nice brownies too.

Donna said...

GEEZ Girl!!Hahaa..after seeing all that snow, I NEED a Brownie!!!
Congratulations on winning!!! Wonderful!!! You really deserve it! Happy weekend!hughugs

Elyse said...

Congrats on your win! I must say that I have no tolerance for a cakey brownie; I'm a fudgy-gooey brownie girl. And, your brownies seem to cater to my tastes! It may be early in the morning here in California, but I could surely go for one of those brownies right this minute!

Sylvie said...

Rosie, congratulations on your well deserved win.

Finla said...

I remember you winning the prize with the cake.
Lucky girl :-)
I love brownies, if i make them i can't keep my hands off them.
Tiyr bronies look so yumm.
Enjoy the snow there.

Kaitlin said...

All of that snow really makes me miss my home-state of Vermont!

The brownies look delish, and I LOVE the plate and napkin!

Rosie said...

Thank you Rosa, n33ma, Donna, Elyse, Sylvie, H.C. & Kaitlin.

We have more snow on the way over the weekend I gather too...

H.C. I have to say a huge thank you one again sweetie for providing a great recipe of the Hummingbird Cake in the first place on your blog!!

Best wishes Rosie x

Beth (jamandcream) said...

Brownies are definitely one of my vices - after wine!!! Great pics of the snow, we've been snowed in again!!

Rosie said...

Beth, I thought about you when I saw all the snow on the news in your part of U.K. today! Keep warm sweetie!

Best wishes Rosie x

dabrah said...

Great minds, and all that: I baked chocolate brownies today too! Mine don't look as good as yours, but I'm off to find my icing sugar and sprinkle a dusting on the brownies.

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Mmmmm they look soooo chocolatey. And I'm jealous of all that snow. We never get much here in Virginia...

Katie said...

Congratulations on your win. Brownies look delicious and the perfect treat for a snow day

threesidesofcrazy said...

Congratulations on the Hummingbrd Cake. These brownies sound amazing! Thanks for listing the ingredients in both metric and standard.

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Congratulations Rosie! You truly deserved this :)
We had also lots of snow here, but not like in your place...
Enjoy your weekend, Margot

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Congrats! They look wonderful.

Deeba PAB said...

Great win Rosie...good for you. The Hummingbird Cake sounds YUM, & I am so glad you won. These brownies also look delish beyond words. Nice to see you back in a lot of action. The fluffy white stuff is envious! Hope you enjoyed the snow!

Unknown said...

mmm... I wonder how to make brownies from raw ingredients. do you know? This looks fantastic. I just love brownies, and yes I prefer to bake myself. I think it is just a simple way to enjoy a labour of you own, isn't it? hehehe

Dewi said...

OH, the brownie look so scrumptious. Delicious.
Cheers,
Elra

grace said...

packaged brownies can't hold a candle to homemade, and yours are looking quite delicious. and hey--congrats on the win!

Maria♥ said...

Congratulations Rosie, you are definitely a deserving winner!

Those brownies are absolutely sinful but oh so good!! I've not made them in ages but you have me craving them now.

Maria
x

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Congratulations on your win, Rosie. You deserve it! Your brownies look great too!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

The pleasure was mine, Rosie. :)
And I should say "back at you" for these wonderful brownies. I love chocolate and brownies too.