Brownies Ratio Analysis

I work in an investment fund and we look at financial ratios and other boring stuff all day long. So when I walked into the office with a box of brownies and said "I couldn't sleep last night so I was experimenting with ratios -" before I could finish my sentence, my colleagues gave incredulous "why would you do that in the middle of the night?!"

Hehehe I was working on the ONLY ratios that matter - the fat to flour content in determining the texture of brownies you get.

So in my attempt to find my absolute favourite brownie recipe, I decided to make all 3 variations to test them with various friends, family and colleagues and let them decide which one is best.

In making brownies, what determines it being cakey or fudgy is the amount of fat (chocolate and flour) versus the amount of flour that you put into the batter. Obviously, more fat means more fudgy, rich and wet, and vice versa.

Then, tweak yet another variable - the type of sugar - and you get chewy brownies!

The ingredients themselves don't change, but the ratios do and so to make it easy for you I've put the recipe in a table:

The winner for me though, definitely fudgy brownies! Especially when they're warm and paired with a glass of cold milk. YUM! 

Peanut Butter Brownies

Two weekends in a row of baking and I have to say I feel really charged! I also watched Moana, caught up to Riverdale and fit in an early morning walk with my dad. All in all, I'd say I had a pretty amazing weekend. Work is pretty full on, but relatively OK compared to some busier periods we've had in the past two years.

Anyway, funny thing is... I started baking again when I definitely need to cut back and get fit again. I kind of let myself go in the past two years, and am paying for it with my slipped disc. So maybe I should feature some healthy, clean eating type recipes on here, huh? We'll see... it's good enough I'm getting round to doing this. I always told myself it's all about self discipline - the health, managing my work, etc - but it's really a lot easier to say than do.

Anyway, here's a really quick recipe that will give you a BIG payoff even if you only allow yourself half a bite.

Peanut Butter Brownies

• 250g dark chocolate
• 250g butter
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1. Preheat the oven to 175C, and line an 8x8 inch baking tin
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, then remove from the heat and beat in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
3. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and fold until just combined. Pour the batter in the tin, then drop the peanut butter evenly across the surface. Swirl the peanut butter around with a butter knife, then bake for 60 minutes

Raspberry Sea Salt Brownies

Those of you who know me are well aware of my long-time love affair with raspberries and baked goods. So much so that my husband gets to share the dubious honour of being co-namesake for one of my absolute favourite recipes (Rizberry Cheesecake recipe plug).

So, as I sit here, slowly working my way through a slice of these brownies and binge-watching This Is Us (omg Milo Ventimigliaaaaaa), and well, really trying to stay zen about the upcoming busy period at work... I thought, let me lose myself in this for a bit. Here you go, a super easy, super rewarding recipe for Raspberry Sea Salt Brownies. Don't skimp on the sea salt, trust me on this.

Raspberry Sea Salt Brownies

• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 100g milk chocolate, chopped
• 240g unsalted butter
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 170g fresh raspberries
• 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes (for sprinkling)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line an 8x8 inch baking tin with parchment paper
2. Melt the chocolates and butter together, either in the microwave or in a double boiler. Once melted, remove from heat (if over a boiler), and stir in the sugar until just wet
3. Whisk in the eggs and then sift in the flour, sea salt and cocoa powder and fold until just combined
4. Fold half of the fresh raspberries into the batter, then pour into the prepared tin and scatter the remaining raspberries on top. Sprinkle the 1/2 tsp sea salt on top and bake for 60 minutes. 

Orange Pecan Brownies

Some nights I come home and all I want to do is bake. This usually follows a particularly slow day at work, when I need to get the creative juices unstoppered and just get it out there. Last night was just such a night, and despite the fact that my parents are hosting some fancy dinner party today (and I got volunteered into preparing the pudding), what I really wanted to bake was brownies. Simple, comforting, delicious brownies. 

A colleague of mine referred me to Jamie Oliver's brownies recipe when she brought a batch in recently. They were the most luscious brownies I have EVER had, and I think I scarfed down 4 squares that day. Not  my highest point, I assure you... but I've been practicing more restraint since then. 

I made some accidental tweaks to the recipe as I read it wrong last night, but they turned out well regardless, so I'm going to keep making them that way, and I'll share the recipe with you as I made it. Here is the link to the original recipe, in case you want to do a comparison. 

Orange Pecan Brownies
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Bloomin Brilliant Brownies

• 250g unsalted butter
• 200g dark chocolate, broken up
• 2 tsp instant coffee
• 50g chopped pecans (optional)
• 80g dark cocoa powder
• 65g all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 250g brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• zest of 1 orange (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tin with butter and parchment paper
2. Melt the butter and chocolate over a bain-marie, and stir in the instant coffee granules
3. Combine the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl 
4. Once the butter and chocolate have melted evenly through, pour the mix into the flour mixture, add the chopped pecans and stir to combine
5. Beat the eggs in one at a time, then stir in the orange zest
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove and cool completely (or just dive right into it, cos really... what's better than fresh, hot brownies?) 

If you're familiar with this blog, you would know that I adore the chocolate and orange combo. Throw in pecans, and coffee and you have a good handful of my favourite things. I dropped these off at the office today, and handed another batch out to my clients, literally sweetening everyone up for the rest of the week. But now I want to bake another batch for home! Do you think brownies are an acceptable dessert for what is apparently a gourmet dinner party? 

Maybe if I swirl in some mascarpone...

Happy Wednesday friends

x Nabs

Snickers Brownies & (yet another) Farewell

This week our firm said goodbye to yet another one of our brethren, this one leaving for the greener pastures of the Food & Beverage industry! Tat has been making his own ice-cream for a while now, and he built quite the following here on our office floor; our freezer is constantly stocked with new flavours, and orders of favourite flavours (mine being Salted Caramel, yum!).

His official website will be coming up soon enough, along with his brand name and logo and stuff, which I will share the moment it's ready. Amazing ice-cream, seriously, and the daily deliveries will be sorely missed.

For his last day at work, I whipped up a batch of super gooey and sinfully chocolatey Snickers Brownies. I found the recipe ages ago from one of the most beautiful food blogs I've come across - Poires au Chocolat. Been dying to try it out, but never got the chance until now... and boy-oh-boy, there's no looking back!

Snickers & Dark Chocolate Brownies

Adapted from Poires au Chocolat

• 110g unsalted butter
• 50g semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 110g light brown sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 50g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 Snickers bars, chopped
• 20g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 20g unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line and grease a 9x9 inch baking tin
2. Melt the butter and semi-sweet chocolate in a saucepan over a pot of simmering water
3. Transfer the melted chocolate and butter mixture into a medium sized bowl, then dump in the sugars, flour, baking powder and eggs and stir until combined
4. Stir in the chopped Snickers and chocolate
5. Pour into the baking tin and bake for 35 minutes
6. Eat.

So farewell, Tat, and all the best! Hope you enjoyed the brownies!

x Nabs

Rocky Road Brownies

Here in Malaysia, the first quarter of the calendar year is usually fraught with public holidays and long weekends. For the first major one of this year - Chinese New Year weekend - I went on a beach island getaway with two girlfriends, one of whom I haven't met since I was six!

Even though it was only three nights, we switched hotels three times (long story) and went through such a vast range of experiences that it felt like we were there for a week. Amazing weekend though, despite hitting a snag or two, but it was long overdue... for all of us, I think.

gosh, I love instagram

Now that I'm back at work, wearing closed-toed shoes once again and actual underwear as underwear, I've been craving something chocolatey and rich to fill the void of sitting on a beach, sea-salt hair and daytime boozing. Wooo run-on sentence.

the view from my deck chair

What's more chocolatey and rich than soggy brownies? LOL okay, so they're not supposed to be as moist as they turned out for my first batch (pictured here), but that's my fault for following the recipe to the T and taking it out before my oven had had its way with the batter. I should know by now that my oven is not as warm and takes a little longer to bake... Let's just get on with it:

Rocky road brownies
recipe from Joy the Baker

• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 175g butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp brewed coffee
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional
• 2 cups mini marshmallows

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, butter and flour your 10x10 pan
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside
3. In a double boiler, allow the butter, cocoa and 2 tbsp of brewed coffee to simmer, stir through the congealed mess it will become until you get a smooth and runny consistency
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Stir the butter and cocoa mix into the egg mix slowly (don't lick the spatula from the cocoa mix, it tastes naaasteee!), beating on low-medium the whole time
5. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Fold in the chopped walnuts
6. Pour into prepared pan, scatter some chocolate chips on top if you want to, and bake for 20-25 minutes
7. Take the brownies out, set your oven to grill/broiler, and pour the marshmallows on top of the brownies
8. Pop the pan back into the oven, on a higher shelf closer to the grill, and watch it for 2 minutes or so. When the marshmallows have browned (as you can see, I jumped the gun AGAIN and pulled them out too soon) pull the pan out and allow to cool on a wire rack
9. Use a sharp knife with hot water handy to soak the knife in between cuts, otherwise you'll have a huge mess on your hands when cutting through this
10. Enjoy with a glass of milk. Seriously. 

Very, very, moist brownies. However, the brownies themselves aren't very sweet, and I quite like the strong cocoa flavour. The marshmallows are great, especially when still warm, but I think I can do without next time. 

Cheers,

Nabs