As a food blogger in constant search of a new recipe to invent and make your own, you often run the risk of overloading your senses. The need to conquer new ingredients often makes life in the kitchen and in your belly a little bit complicated, a little bit chaotic. When things keep adding on to your life, the only way to restore order is to start subtracting. I find this mantra extremely wise and useful, not just in my kitchen but in every walk of my life.
Earlier this week, my heart wished for a slice of brownie. Now I have
baked brownies before.
A lot of different brownies. But sometimes, just sometimes … you crave simplicity like nothing else. You don't want the
tea soaking hoopla or the need-to-make-it-healthier dramas. You don't want to worry about whether it is going to be gooey or whether to stud it with fruit. Sometimes, all you need is, just brownies! So I baked them. Just Brownies!
And they made me wonder Why? Oh why? Do we try so hard all the time piling on unnecessary baggage to complicate things, when the answer is so simple, just simple! Thought for the day :-). Do you sometimes rebel and simplify? How do you do it? Do you find it calming? re-energising? Would love to hear your thoughts.
[print_this]
JUST BROWNIES
By Sneh Roy | Style : Baking | Category : Dessert
A stunning brownie recipe that is quick and simple. A true classic to make for a potluck or fancy dinner, this dense and moist brownie is a crowd pleaser.
Preparation Time - 10 minutes
Baking Time - 30 minutes
Makes - 16
Ingredients
200g dark couverture chocolate
250g butter, chopped
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
4 organic eggs
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Method
Preheat oven to 160C (320F). Grease and line with baking paper, a brownie pan (26cm x 16cm) or square tin (23cm).
Place chocolate and butter over low heat in a saucepan. Stir as it melts. Cook for a few minutes, stirring till it is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Place sugar, cocoa, flour, baking powder and eggs in a bowl. Add chocolate mixture and beat with an electric mixer for a minute until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes until set. Cool in tin.
Dust with cocoa powder and slice as desired. Serve by itself or warmed with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
[/print_this]
Darn it!
I've never had a fail Cook Republic recipe yet. Until now!
Religiously stuck to recipe but added a couple of raspberries to one corner.
No change in oven (which has performed many a CR cake, cookie, muffin etc...)
After nearly 1.5 hrs in oven my brownies are runny inside.
Will attempt again but d'ya reckon the raspberries affected the outcome? Surely not but need to ask the expert.
Big thanks
Carmen, so sorry that the brownies didn't turn out well for you. A couple (2-3) raspberries in a corner should definitely not affect the brownie outcome. If you have added a handful (which would amount to roughly half a cup or 120g) then of course the flour ratio has to be increased to allow for the extra liquid from the fruit and the time would increase to about an hour. But if your brownie has been cooking for 1.5 hrs, It should be quite dry if cooked at 160C. Puzzling as to why it is still runny. Is yours a fan forced or convection? How runny are the brownies? Like raw or just wet and dense?
Thank you for sharing your recipes . Your pics are just as nice as the recipes. With scaptisism as always I thought I'd try a couple , not only they are delicious but they work and look just like your pics . I made the brownies as well as the bundt cake . My sons response / OMG !!
Congratulations and good luck with your blog . I can not wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you xxx
my first brownie recipe and by far the best one 😀
loved them!
Delicious! So simple yet so darn effective 😉
Simple recipes are the best! Great food doesn't need to be complex. Your photos evoke all the chocolate goodness of a classic brownie. An enjoyable post!
Oh yes please. Sometimes the original is all you need, right? Gorgeous post, Sneh.
These brownies looks so fudgy, exactly how they ought to be! Simplicity at its best!!
Will be making these tonight! I really appreciate your blog and your perspective. It seems so many things in life would be better if we could just simplify them, but food and the preparation of food is particularly susceptible to this dandying about with techniques and ingredients and methods. And while that's fun and certainly distracting and absolutely draining on my pocketbook, in the end, i find that the simplest approach -- indeed, the one I often began with! -- produces the best result. Thanks for that subtle reminder.
These brownies look simply perfect. Sometimes, simple is the way to go. A perfectly ripe tomato, a slice of strong cheddar and a piece of chewy fresh bread... was there ever a more delicious lunch?
Love your composition. Love how little you cut these brownies into. Love the glossy look. Love the recipe.
Thanks a lot - now I want brownies!!!! 🙂
Oh my Sneh, I have been so busy and then when I saw that I have a few of your posts to read through in my reader it brightened ny day and this was the first one I clicked on! These look amaxing and I am am so in awe of hte beautiful light you captured. I too just want simple sometimes so that is what I have been doing and it feels good!
Your brownies look just perfect and just how I like them. If you could send this recipe to a few cafes I know where they are as dry as an old chip I'd be most happy.
It's very hard to beat a simple chocolate brownie. And these ones are just beautiful.
i meant plain chocolate cake 😀
Yes, slowing down helps .. subtracting helps! Most of the time I make daal with all kind of greens or veggies .. or spices .. trying to give a new taste to the palate. And then I like doing what you did .. make daal, plain and simple 🙂
I feel like baking a plain chocolate now ..
I so love brownies I can eat a 12-piece box in one sitting! lol Thanks for the recipe, I hope my friend can help me bake this. I tried to bake brownies once and it was a disaster!
I do believe in simplicity, whether it 's in the kitchen or the clothes I wear or home decor. I often think of that famous quote from CoCo Chanel advising women to take off one accessory before leaving the house. These brownies are the Audrey Hepburn of baked goods, a classic beauty. No need to add more.
Amen to this! Simplicity is something I've been sorely lacking, lately... and it sounds like exactly what I need! Wonderful post - just what I needed to read this morning! 🙂
Sometimes only a brownie straight up will suffice! I absolutely know what you mean about simplicity - I bake a lot of plainer things that never make it onto the blog but that me, my boyfriend, family and friends all absolutely love on a day to day basis 🙂
Just yum!!!!!
I really want chocolate now!
I can completely relate to you! I go through this confusion so often. Every time I see a new ingredients/produce I wonder how I can 'create' something interesting out of it. We bloggers definitely need a break sometimes and what better way to do it than bake some simple brownies 🙂
I've never cooked the brownies, thanks for the recipe!!!!!!
so very true!!! as much as i love searching for that ingredient sometimes we do just need to go back to basics 🙂 thanks for the reminder, it looks delicious.
Abosolute perfection! I crave simplicity too - flavours, interior design, fashion.
How decadent, now those are brownies!
Those are not just any brownies, they are FUDGY brownies! The best kind one can bake. Lovely.
I love those shots.
Cheers,
Rosa
I agree - sometimes (and by sometimes I mean MOST of the time) simple is just better. What a gorgeous batch of brownies!
Gorgeous Sneh! And I'm with you, sometimes, actually often, simple is best. 😀