My search for the ultimate Chocolate Brownie recipe ended when I tried Rosemary Moon's version from her "Aga Cookbook". I've adapted and refined it as I've made it over the years and those dark, squidgy squares have become the most requested and applauded item of baked goods produced in this house.
They go down well at school Cake & Candy stalls, have been pressed into service as Harvest Festival offerings and often sustain the members of the Mindroom board at kitchen table meetings.
If you like your brownies dense, moist and moreish, then these are for you.
You will need:
10oz. dark chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tbsp. golden syrup
6oz. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla essence (optional)
3 large eggs, beaten
4oz. caster sugar
2oz. ground almonds, sieved
2oz. plain flour, sieved
pinch of salt
Melt the chocolate: you can use a double boiler or, if braver, just put it in a large heavy pan on a very gentle heat.
Leave it to cool slightly then beat in all the other ingredients until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a lined tin; I use a 12" x 8" with a slide-out base and silicone baking paper.
Bake for 22 minutes in the bottom right hand oven of a four oven Aga with the tin on a rack set on the lowest set of runners, or at Gas 4, 350F, 180C. If you prefer them firmer, then give them 25 to 30 minutes.
Leave to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack, using the lining paper to lift them out of the tin. When cold, cut into squares (approx. 20).
They usually disappear fast:
Making them (not to mention scraping out the pan and licking the spoon) is a perfect pastime for a rainy afternoon.
Talking of harvest festivals my Dad who is 81 is about to go into hiding as the season approaches but would be delighted if someone knocked on his door with a plate of these, he's getting fed up with giant marrows and tins of marrowfat peas.
Posted by: dovegreyreader | 04 September 2006 at 08:32 PM
Greetings. It must be the middle of the night over there, and I'm not expecting a quick reply to this question!
The recipe for brownies in the September archives looks like one my family would like--the ground almonds and syrup make it special-- and I want to try it, but "10 oz. dark chocolate" is ambiguous to me. We're supposed to be speaking the same language, but ...
To me this would mean unsweetened baker's chocolate, but the amount of sweetness in the recipe does not seem to be enough for that much unsweetened chocolate. Thanks to your picture, I searched on the Bournville Cadbury chocolate, and it appears to be a chocolate bar that you could eat right out of the package. It is sweetened chocolate, right?
Thank you for helping me not waste my ingredients. Now that I've worked out "caster sugar," I'm ready to start as soon as my chocolate is right.
Posted by: Fay Sheco | 29 January 2007 at 01:56 AM