Thursday, May 11, 2006
Brownies with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries
My boss is leaving the company and some of us have been asked to bake some goodies for his farewell party. So what was I to make that is tasty, easy to eat standing up, affordable in large quantities and requires as little planning as possible (it is the end of the week after all and regular readers will know what my fridge looks like on Thursdays and Fridays)? I opted for something I've been making successfully for years (I wouldn't want to embarrass myself in front of the whole company, would I?) and that most people like - Brownies. But I wouldn't be myself if I just made straightforward chocolate squares. They had to have some sort of twist for me to be satisfied. So how about dark chocolate brownies with cranberries and walnuts?200g dark chocolate (you can use cooking chocolate, but do make sure it's of reasonable quality; I've used Tesco's own before, so reasonable can be defined quite broadly here)Right, now you know the theory of it all. The practice looked slightly different. I started way too late so the brownies weren't really completely cooked by the time I had to go to bed. I tried microwaving one while I was brushing my teeth, which resulted in a piece of chocolate scented charcoal and a kitchen full of smoke. Did you know that a brownie cannot be microwaved for 90 seconds without burning to a crisp? I certainly didn't and was thoroughly shocked at my latest creation. In fact, I was so shocked, I forgot to photograph the rest for this post. I think I'll stay away from the microwave for a while after this experience. Luckily my colleagues did not mind sticky brownies so I did not have to try and repeat the microwave trick at the office. But boy, what a cleaning nightmare!
¾ cubs butter (or margarine)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla flavouring
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (these can be substituted with any nuts you like or even left out)
½ cup dried cranberries (again, there are loads of possible substitutes: cherries, strawberries, blueberries, chopped apricots or even chocolate chunks; just make sure they go with the nuts you've chosen)
a pinch of chilli powder (optional; it doesn't go with everything and not everyone likes it, so if you have a sweet tooth, simply omit it)
1 cup boiling water
Butter for the baking tin
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Butter a 20 to 25 cm square baking tin. Soak the dried fruit in the boiling water until soft. Drain well.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a large bowl either over a bain-marie or by microwaving them on high for 2 minutes or until the butter is melted. Continue stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. Now add the sugar followed by the eggs and vanilla. Stir until you have a smooth batter, then add the flour, nuts and fruit. Stir until all is incorporated, then pour the mixture into the baking tin. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the centre comes out ALMOST clean. Don't overbake, you want them to be gooey at the centre. Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting.
Christine at 10:20 pm
