Brownies

Brownies have been my obsession to give as a present, to eat on a "who gives a poop about kcal" kind of day or when guests are coming around. There are so many different types of brownies, you can have them gooey/firm, bake them or not bake them at all [refrigerated]. There are some tips I've learnt over the past 2 or 3 yrs, since they were one of the first things I started baking.

1. Do not put the heat on the highest setting when melting chocolate on a hob as it will burn and loose its shine. 

2. Do not keep opening the oven door- heat escapes and your baking will dip very quickly. Only open it rightttt at the end if it's totally necessary, otherwise wait until you know time's up. (This applies to cakes etc too)

3.After you have baked your brownies, leave them to cool in a larger dish filled with very cold water or ice (this cools them on the outside whilst maintaining a certain gooeyness inside).

4. Once you've whisked the eggs and chocolate together treat the mixture like a baby. Use a gentle 8 motion, folding it, taking it under and back up again. Be gentle or else you'll lose the air that you just incorporated into it.

5. If you want them to taste divine, then you HAVE TO BUY DECENT INGREDIENTS. When I say decent I mean 70% cocoa solids in your chocolate and best quality cocoa. Many brands like Dairy Milk have less cocoa solids than Tesco's own brand of chocolate. Shocking I know.

Here are a few pictures to urge you 

chocolate lovers to get onto baking brownies.