FOOD AND TRAVEL

Thursday, August 4, 2011

My Favorite Chocolate Brownies

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Baking is not a widely used method  in Indian cooking. Most of the cooking happens on stove top or tandoor when things are to be cooked at higher temperature. Even though growing up my mom baked a lot of savory food, sweet baking was rather rare. My mother in law on other hand never baked. When she was recently visiting us, she was completely fascinated about baking. I was pleasantly surprised, I didn't think she would take a liking to it immediately. But she did. I wrote tons of recipes for her to go back and try.
Loving black and white food pictures!
Winner of Black and White Food Picture on Food Pixel

One thing that she kept wondering about was how the eggs, flour and  butter used in different quantities could completely change the taste and texture of the end result. Measurements which are an alien concept in Indian cooking since most cooks rely on eye balling was another thing she felt lost at. Have you ever wondered how this simple ingredients make heart warming (and thigh bloating) desserts?

Chocolate

I found this recipe for brownies by hummingbird bakery online a year ago. And absolutely, madly and deeply in love with them ever since. So much so that I ordered the book based on judging this recipe. And when I first got hold of it, the first thing I baked of it was of course the brownies!

Having fun with simple things.

They are everything they should be - dense, moist, chewy and intensely chocolaty with a light cracked crust. 

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M declares a brownie lunch day when they are baking. In an ideal world, I should make him a healthy lunch instead. But being good is not always my priority. And if you are thinking my priorities are screwed, you shouldn't know we also have a cake lunch/dinner day as well!

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I prefer to slightly under bake them and take them out of the oven just under 30 minutes. The gooeyness totally makes it for us. It leads to light  flaky crust but when you bake it up to 35 minutes, you shall have dry crust if that's what you prefer. Any case, do yourself a favor and bake these (thigh bloating) piece of love.

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Also wishing a very happy Ramadhan to all my readers who celebrate. Thank you everyone who wrote in for iftar (fast breaking) recipes. I'll try my best to to feature some recipes. 

Hummingbird Bakery's Traditional Brownie
Makes 12
Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients 

200g dark chocolate
175g butter 
130 g all purpose flour 
325g caster sugar
3 eggs

Note

* I use 85% cocoa dark chocolate which is intense. Feel free to use 60 - 70% dark chocolate if you baking for the kids specially.

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 C and line a 33 x 23 x 5-cm baking tray with grease proof paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler until smooth.

Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar until well incorporated.

Add the flour and stir until well incorporated. Finally whisk in the eggs until thick and smooth.

Spoon the mixture in the prepared baking tray and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes.

Let them cool before cutting into squares. But I love them warm and M loves them cold. 
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62 comments

  1. Oh Wow Kulsum!!! You have left me speechless. This looks so heavenly. I can only imagine how it would have tasted. :)

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  2. Fantastic!
    You are a terrific wife, I must say, for having cake lunch/dinner days. So cool and unconventional!!

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  3. gorgeous pictures. congrats on the win. I also love brownies that are gooey and not cakey. the recipe is very similar to my fave recipe for brownies. I should give this one a go to compare. thank you for sharing the recipe

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  4. My precious................ I'm going to try this!

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  5. Absolutely gorgeous pictures - seriously. Wow.

    Brownies look so tasty. I love mine with nuts in. I love the idea of coming to baking totally fresh - how wonderful and miraculous it must seem.

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  6. Beautiful pics ...loved it and so the brownie ....looks fab

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  7. I am scrolling up and down not getting enough of the so very beautiful photographs!Kulsum they are just marvelous and I want that Lindt container:)

    As for the brownies, they look lovely and gooey just like my girls love them. strangely enough I am not too fond of brownies :( and I think I will keep the idea of brownie/cake lunch day a secret from them.. what say? :)

    and that is the best B/W pic I have ever encountered.

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  8. Just tasted some of Ria's brownies today..Brownies are so yummm...Yours looks just perfect.
    Congrats on winning the best B/W award. Lovely snap!

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  9. i just made brownies last week...which i will be posting soon. the recipe is more or less similar :) my friend gave me a good recipe. i'm definitely going to try this recipe with lindt :D :D love the image of the mug with chocolate all over :O ;-) you temptress you !

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  10. absolutely beautiful photos, I loved the black and white pictures. Now if only I could get my hands on those brownies...

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  11. wow... awesome pics Kulsum.. and the recipe looks really good. Hope to try it soon!

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  12. I love brownies!! Can't wait to try these. By the way, your pictures are beautiful!

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  13. Kulsum, one word to describe the post 'stunning', love brownies especially right off the oven with simple Vanilla icecream

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  14. Kulsum, absolutely beautiful photos... Your brownies look so irresistible! My son LOVES chocolate and he and I can finish your whole batch in one day if you let us. ;-) Love this post!

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  15. Now you know I've been craving brownies for a while and still haven't gotten round to baking some. So this post of yours is killing me. I like to underbake mine as well to ensure they stay gooey and fudgy!

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  16. I was just thinking about brownies few days ago and you are teasing me with these gooey chocolaty brownies. Beautiful pictures as always and I loved your B&W pictures. They are sure a winner.

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  17. These brownies look incredible. I remember the first time I ate an Indian restaurant with my husband (who is a very picky and conservative eater), he was horrified by the dessert menu. No cake???
    This looks great, but I do like Indian desserts too.

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  18. ooh la la!! these look so delish and moreish! i have a hummingbird banana loaf that's a winner too so give that a go if you have the chance. let me know if you like to have th recipe. congrats on yor win and your photos are fab!

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  19. Your photos are INCREDIBLE!!! I LOVE the egg one, and the one with the lindt can and the first one...heck all of them!! So talented! Can't wait to read more of your blog :)

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  20. Amaazing first photo! plus I'm starving, so chocolate isn't what I'm suppose to drooling on right now.

    Congratz on winning food pixel!

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  21. LOVE LOVE LOVE this post Kulsum! What gorgeous shots! Everyone went gaga about that egg photo of yours (including me!) but today I am loving the flour sot more than that one. Its always great to see a friend grow and you have grown a lot as a writer and photographer! Kudos to you :-)

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  22. Absolutely gorgeous photos Kulsum,and your brownies look positively sinful! Yum!!!

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  23. Kulsum, These brownies look to die for. Totally sinful! Beautiful clicks as always!

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  24. Looks absolutely decadent! You have this chocolic's heart!

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  25. I love the simplicity of this brownie recipe (no cocoa powder or leaveners, just the good stuff!) and dear god, your photos are gorgeous.

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  26. Wow these are scrumptious! I can see why they would be a favorite :)

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  27. My tummy is rumbling...it wants these brownies!!

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  28. My goodness...your photos just keep getting better and better. I am stunned by how gorgeous they are and by how amazing these brownies look. You are killing me here...

    :)

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  29. That is so interesting about the idea of baking in the Indian culture. These brownies look addictive & soooo chocolatey.

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  30. You are so right. There is no measuring when it comes to indian food. lol.

    The brownies look sinfully delicious. I'm trying them out tomorrow. They'll be perfect for a dinner party. :)

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  31. Okay seriously, when can I expect these to arrive? lol You are evil tempting me with this chocolate goodness!

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  32. They just look irresistible. i am in love with them. What is it about a brownie that just takes you to that special place! YUMMY!

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  33. These brownies certainly make anyone drool..absolutely gorgeous ..I have no words to say abt ur pictures.

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  34. Absolutely gorgeous photos!

    Did you know that you're maxed out on Stumble shares? I can receive your shares, but you can't receive anyone elses. Just thought I'd let you know :)

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  35. Thank you everyone! This is one great brownie :-)

    DessertforTwo - Oh my?? Really! That's what I have been thinking :S Now why have I maxed out?

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  36. The brownies look perfect. Beautiful photos too!

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  37. Oh wow!! These brownies are tempting!

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  38. oh my goodness, these are beautiful photos! And the brownies look tremendous...I wish I had some right now!

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  39. beautiful shots makes me hungry! i have this amazing brownie recipe from a book called "death by chocolate" and ive been too lazy to bake, but after seeing this im SOO going to make it !

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  40. Just gorgeous Kulsum...beautiful post and pictures. Love the way you write too!

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  41. Those look incredible! And so few ingredients! I'm amazed :D

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  42. Fudgy brownies may be my undoing. I must make these soon, they look awesome!

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  43. Mmm those look delightfully fudgy -- just the way I love 'em! I see this is where your B&W photos went =D

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  44. My gosh these brownies look incredible! And such gorgeous photos too! I am definitely adding these to my to do list. Thanks!

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  45. Wow, check out those brownies. They look so irresistible and as always awesome clicks.

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  46. Yum! These look so tasty! thanks for another great recipe! :)

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  47. Became speechless ever since I entered here. Seriously! No words but just drool...

    Scrumptious brownies!

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  48. Beautiful brownies.... Hmm must try soon :)

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  49. The brownies look insanely moist and perfectly made!

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  50. This looks awesome! Going to have to try this for my next cookout or tailgating browni party .

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  51. These pictures are doing things to me even though I'm not exactly a chocolate fan. Gorgeous texture on the brownies, and AMAZING photographs!

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  52. How did I miss this post!!! WOW... Those brownies look PERFECT! LOVE LOVE LOVE all the photos too :)

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  53. This has just become my new favorite brownie too! ;-) You take amazing photographs, Kulsum.

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  54. now i know why they are your favorite brownies ! made them this evening and they are gooey moist and rich :D using lindt does make a difference. love this recipe !!! just one thick brownie is really filling ...no wonder you ate it for lunch ;-)

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  55. I adore the simplicity of this recipe and the outcome proofs that you don't need to fancy everything up do have great results.

    Oh, and that vintage milk churn is just to die for. ;)

    Tobias

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  56. i baked in as told n it was all much too runny....
    baked it for longer in a higher temp. n left in on the warm oven to cool down... n than it was better.....very gooey....but still very greasy ...

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  57. @Perfectlyok So sorry to hear it didn't go well with you but I have made these brownies almost every two week and never faced the problem. It is gooey but certainly not greasy. Ofcourse, if you are looking for a cake like brownie, this is not the one.

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  58. Hey! I baked these with a slight variation. Using strawberry lindt and blueberry preserves! The base of this recipe is just right. One that yields dense and gooey brownies.. Thanks for sharing!

    Here's a link to my post: http://bakerstreet.tv/2011/08/strawberry-and-blueberry-brownies/#.TqAlEpxmI5E

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  59. Hi.. can you give me the measurement cup wise? Would love to try this out! Thanks.

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  60. Hi! I was wondering, can I use brown sugar instead of caster sugar?

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  61. This is my go to recipe for brownies. It's bookmarked. I've experimented with a few additions here and there but this recipe is so perfect it doesn't really need anything else. Thank you so much for sharing, you've brought a bit of happiness to my family many.... Many times 😊

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