My Ultimate Chocolate Brownies

If there is ever one recipe that I have attachment issues with, it would be my brownies.

It was year 2002 or was it 2003? I can't quite remember now. All I can remember was I survived many moments with these brownies.

• Stack of assessments to complete at Uni. Brownies. 
• Tears over bad grade. Brownies.
• Stressed friends. Brownies
• Helping a friend to impress her boyfriend. Brownies
• A big thank you to a supervisor? Brownies
• Break up tears? Brownies
• I hate statistics. Brownies
• Marking assignments. Brownies
• Celebration in completion of thesis-s. Brownies
• Farewells at various internships. Brownies 
• Impress the potential (and now quite real!) extended family members of in laws. Brownies 

Brownies were actually one of the first most successful bakes I have ever done. Ask my hubby. He survived rock cakes (I mean rock!). We weren't even dating yet! What about floury cookies? Or raw ones? Oh I have done it all. My poor friends who survived through my years of disasters (and more to come). 

But somehow, as I grow tougher, more adventurous... I neglected my brownies. I say mine with a big possessiveness neon sign on it.  When a few colleagues took turns to bring their version of chocolate brownies, something in me stirred.

I HAD to make brownies.

Over my uni years (~8 years!!!), many late nights, allowed me to change and alter the recipe till it I can call mine finally. It's seriously my pride and joy. Even though it's a simple, everyone can do it dessert.... the smell of the mixture, the chocolate.. .. it brought me back to yester-years.

So finally, I decided to share with you my ultimate. It's my favourite of all favourites. It's dark, rich, slight crisp on outside and soft/fudgy on the inside. And perhaps then you could create more tomorrow, future years of memories. 

My Ultimate Chocolate Brownies 

1/3 cup plain flour
1/2 cup of Nestle Cocoa Powder 
1 cup of sugar
1.5 cups of chopped toasted pecans/walnuts
250 grams of Lindt dark 70% chocolate (Sometimes, I used a mixture of 60% or 70%. I even experimented with peppermint versions as well)
250 grams of butter melted
2-3 tsp of vanilla essence
4 eggs lightly beaten 

Preheat Oven to 180C. Line slice tin with baking paper.

Sift flour and cocoa. Toss sugar, nuts and broken pieces of dark chocolate in mixture. Make a well in the middle. Pour butter and fold gently. Slowly add in eggs and vanilla. Continue to fold. Then pour into tin, smooth surface and bake for 45-50 minutes. It will still be slightly soft inside-that's perfect! Cool. Chill for 2 hours or overnight before slicing.

Best Ever Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

A chocolate cake is a chocolate cake. Right? Wrong!

A chocolate cake made without butter- and with little fat- is that even possible?

Like edible possible?

When I read this recipe, I thought to myself that this can't be a good chocolate cake. I like my chocolate cake rich. I mean, if I have to indulge, I like to have the real thing. Well, this is the real thing alright...just without the high amount of fat that usual cakes have. The only fat it contains comes from the real dark chocolate that I used. And even that, I take it as extra antioxidants that my body needs...and the endorphins of course.

I'm guessing the moist airy nature of this cake comes from the egg whites. It's also gluten free-with no flour to weigh it down. Rather hazelnut meal was used.

I picked up this recipe from an advertisement for CSR LogiCane Sugar (it's a smart sugar with a lower GI). Hubby didn't like the taste of this sugar, so i substituted it with normal sugar. Logicane sugar said 1/2 cup = 1 cup of normal sugar. Well, I used just slightly over 1/2 cup and the sweetness is just right. A dark chocolate cake should have a slight bitter undertone-which is what I love about chocolate! Sweet and bitter at the same time. Just like life.

Best Ever Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

250 grams dark chocolate chopped (I used 70% Lindt)
2 tbsp vegetable oil  
1 tbsp milk (I used soy)
5 large eggs separated 
180 grams hazelnut meal
slightly more than 1/2 cup of sugar 

dusting of icing sugar and some fruits to serve with it. I used strawberries.

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 20cm cake tin with baking paper.

Place chocolate, milk and oil in heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir with spoon till chocolate melts. Cool.

Combine melted chocolate with hazelnut meal, egg yolks and suagar. 

Meanwhile,  beat egg whites till stiff peaks.  Fold egg whites gently into chocolate mixture. Spoon into cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes or till firm.

Almond Cookies

I can't can't can't get enough of these cookies. They must be one of the easiest but yet so delicious cookies to make. I have previously posted them about it here. Looking back though, I didn't feel that I have given it enough credit so here am I doing this again!

Since baking these cookies, friends and family members have been requesting for the recipe. They are so powerful that a friend of mine who has never done any baking in her life decided to give it a go. (She said she felt embarrassed about asking me to bake for her every week). I can see why though, these have a melt in your mouth texture and the crunch of almonds is irresistible.

I have tried using canola oil as I couldn't locate corn oil... and others have attempted it using olive oil. One observation I have is that the texture depends alot on the humidity of your kitchen and country. In summer, I have to add a little milk or oil as it tends to be drier. Play it by ear is the best way I think!

This is from my favourite nonya cook book of all times by Patrica Lee. 

Almond Cookies 

250grams of silvered almonds
450 grams of plain flour
225 grams of icing sugar
260 grams of peanut oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Egg wash- 1 egg yolk.

Preheat oven to 150C. Toast almonds. Reserve 50grams for garnishing.

In a mixing bowl, mix plain flour, icing sugar, baking powder, soda and salt together. Add in corn oil and almonds. Knead to make dough.

Shape dough and brush with egg wash. Press some reserved almonds on it. Bake for 20-25 minutes till brown.