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GOOEY AND FUDGY STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES



    Weather was beautiful outside yesterday evening. Drizzling rain drops and popping rainbow was making me eager to whip up something quick and easy to enjoy this beautiful weather with my cuppa.


    Jumped up from the couch and hurriedly stepped down to the kitchen and my eyes went straight to the chocolate buttons in my pantry. The first thing that came up to my mind was, “ah I haven’t made my famous classic brownies in a while which are always my family and friends’ favorite!” Opened the fridge and pulled out the butter and eggs, and while I was grabbing them I saw a strawberry punnet and thought of putting it to a great use! Chocolate and strawberry is a classic combo and pairs so well...grabbed that to make them part of my classic recipe. Now brownie isn’t complete without adding a crunch of the nut, opened the freezer and pulled out the bag of pecans which I always stock up as they are one of my favorite nuts. Worked up the brownies batter and within in no time my gooey fudgy brownies were ready to gobble down...



    If you yearning to eat something indulgent but don't want to stand up in kitchen for hours to curb your cravings, this classic brownies recipe modified with strawberries is just the perfect one for you to try which will be ready in minutes...


    I’m sure you’re already drooling as who doesn’t love brownies - read the recipe down below!



    YIELDS: 9 large/16 small pieces

    PREP TIME: 15 minutes

    BAKE TIME: 30 minutes




    INGREDIENTS


    • 185g dark chocolate buttons ( you can use semi-sweet)

    • 125g butter, cubed

    • 1 cup caster sugar

    • 1 cup all purpose flour

    • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

    • 2 eggs, lightly beaten

    • 3/4 cup pecan nuts, roughly chopped

    • 6-8 strawberries, sliced

    METHOD


    1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 8x8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper.

    2. Bain-marie the chocolate buttons and butter together in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure your bowl is not touching the hot water.

    3. Remove bowl from the pan, add sugar and vanilla; stir to combine. Add lightly beaten eggs to the chocolate mix, stir to combine well.

    4. Gradually add flour to the chocolate mix, in three batches, fold gently to a lump-free batter. Fold in the pecan nuts. Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared pan, place sliced strawberries on top and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

    5. Leave to cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and cut them into slices and serve warm with a dollop of ice-cream on top.


    COOK'S NOTES:


    • Bain-Marie is a technique of melting or cooking something over a pan of simmering water. You can also do this step in the recipe using the microwave, but I prefer to do it over a pan of simmering water.

    • Strawberries on top makes the brownies bit more gooey. The extra moisture which oozes from strawberries after baking makes them more moist hence they become more gooey.

    • Do not over bake your brownies if you feel after 30 minutes of baking they are still soft from the center. They will firm up slightly and will become fudgy once cooled down.

    #brownies #fudgybrownies #baked #baking #chocolatebrownies #bakedrecipes #strawberry #darkchocolatebrownies #pecannuts

    PIMIENTO THYME TWISTED BREAD




      Hey there! Baby pimiento and thyme bread made in a jiffy...sometimes you don’t plan ahead to make something that interesting and delicious.


      This is the creation from the leftover dough of naan bread atta (dough) which was made to serve along with butter chicken for my son’s birthday...a lot was leftover after making the naans. I had ingredients like jarred pimientos and thyme at hand in my pantry and fridge and quickly thought of converting this leftover dough to this scrumptious bread.


      When I cut the bread, the wiggly pattern was very exotic looking, and the bread impressed my friends and family when I served it with guacamole and dill and pepper dip....it was a big hit!!



      YIELDS: two 14" loaves

      PREP TIME: 30 minutes

      BAKING TIME: 40 minutes

      PASSIVE TIME: 2 hours



      INGREDIENTS


      For bread dough:

      • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

      • 1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

      • 1/2 cup milk, full fat & room temperature

      • 1 tsp sugar

      • 1 tsp salt

      • 2 tbsp sunflower oil

      • 3/4 cup warm water

      For stuffing:

      • 1 clove garlic, crushed

      • 250g pimientos, jarred

      • 2 tbsp tomato paste

      • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

      • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

      • Pinch of salt



      METHOD

      1. In a small bowl, mix warm water, yeast and sugar. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes until some bubbles form on top. Add oil and mix.

      2. In a large bowl, sieve flour and salt. Gradually add milk and yeast water to the flour, poring small quantities at a time and make a soft dough. Alternatively use the stand mixer fitted with hook attachment to make the dough.

      3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth in texture. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour or until the dough is double in size.

      4. Meanwhile, make the pimiento and thyme filling. Drop all the ingredients for stuffing in an electric blender, blitz to a paste.

      5. Punch the dough to knock out the air. Bring it together to make it soft and pliable.

      6. Drop the dough on a floured surface and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Take one piece and roll it into 8 x 12 inch rectangle, spread 1/4 of the filling on top, leaving 1 inch border around the edges. From the larger side of the dough, start making accordion folds, about 1.5 inch thick. Repeat the same steps with another piece of dough.

      7. Keeping the stuffing side up, join and press together the two short ends of the two accordion pleated doughs, twist them around each other forming a spiral. Join and press the other two short ends together.

      8. Repeat the steps 6 and 7 with the other 2 pieces of dough.

      9. Now, carefully transfer the shaped loaves on the lightly floured lint-free cloth or baker’s couche to rest. Push the cloth up around each loaf to create folds that will help the dough hold its shape. Alternatively use baguette pans to rest the loaves and form the shape.

      10. Now, cover the pieces of prepared loaves with oiled plastic wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes to an hour.

      11. Preheat the oven to 220° C and bake them for 35 - 40 minutes, until golden brown from outside.


      COOK'S NOTES:

      • The bread should feel dry and light on the outside and when you tap them they should make a hollow sound.

      • Store the bread wrapped in a bio-degradable bag and keep it outside for 2 days.

      • Slice the bread into 1/2 inch rounds and it’s a perfect base for bruschetta.

      • Serve the sliced bread as a dipper with your favourite party dip. I served mine with guacamole and dill and gherkin dip. Or serve it with hot bowl of soup.



      SPICED CARROT AND ORANGE CAKE



        Had some friends coming over last week for tea and that’s enough reason for you to whip up something so decadent and delicious. Made Spiced Orange and Carrot Walnut Cake with zesty cream cheese frosting... I make this often as carrot cake is a family favorite. Its zesty fluffy dreamy cream cheese frosting pairs just right to cut through the sweetness of carrot cake.


        It certainly is a crowd pleaser dessert which goes so well whether you serve it for tea or as a dessert...it’s super delicious!! I topped it up with basil shoot and leaves which are blooming beautifully in my garden.


        The cake plate I used is a mystery...I must admit, I bought it few years back, but somehow I wasn’t very convinced with my purchase and it was hiding behind in my crockery cupboard, pulled it out and thought of using it the other day...and to my surprise it just looked an absolute stunner. So so happy that I chose this to present my cake...what do you say??

        SERVES: 16-20 servings

        PREP TIME: 20 minutes

        BAKING TIME: 30 minutes



        INGREDIENTS

        • 175g unsalted butter, room temperature

        • 1 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed

        • 3 eggs

        • 1 naval orange, zested and juiced (1/3 cup)

        • 2 medium carrots, washed peeled and grated

        • 2 cups self-raising flour

        • 1/2 tsp baking soda

        • 1/2 tsp baking powder

        • 1/2 tsp salt

        • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

        • 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

        • 1 cup walnuts, chopped

        Cream Cheese Frosting:

        • 4 oz/125g cream cheese (full fat), room temperature

        • 95g butter salted, room temperature

        • 1/2 cup icing sugar

        • 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

        • Zest of 1 orange

        For Garnish:

        • 6-8 Dehydrated orange circles

        • 6-8 walnut halves

        • 5-6 Fresh basil leaves



        MET

        1. Preheat oven to 180°C, grease and prepare the 9” ring pan with butter.

        2. In an electric mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar and zest together with paddle attachment until it’s light and creamy in texture, add eggs one at a time and beat them for 2 minutes.

        3. Add orange juice and mix for another minute, don’t worry if the mixture curdles.

        4. Remove bowl from machine.In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder and nutmeg; now add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two batches and fold with spatula to combine well and make lump-free batter.

        5. Fold carrots and walnuts in batter until well combined, and take care not to over mix it.

        6. Pour the batter in greased and prepared pan, bake it in pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the the skewer comes out clean. Leave it in pan for 10 minutes, remove on cooling rack to cool cpmpletely.

        To Make Frosting:

        1. In an electric mixer bowl, whisk the cream cheese for a minute till it’s smooth and creamy; add butter and whisk for 2-3 minutes until the butter and cream cheese are smooth and fluffy in texture.

        2. Add sugar, vanilla and zest, blend for another 1-2 minutes until well combined and has thick spreadable consistency.

        3. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and decorate with extra chopped walnuts, dried orange slices and basil leaves.

        4. Let it set in the fridge for 20-30 minutes and serve.


        COOK'S NOTES:

        • Remove the cake out of the mould or baking pan after leaving it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. If you remove immediately, it will break and if you leave it too long in pan, the cake will sweat and will have a soggy crust.

        • The cake should be completely cooled before frosting it.


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