Sunday 12 October 2008

Sweet remix

I look up a LOT of recipes online. I never claim a recipe to be my own unless I completely create it myself. There will be times, however, where I use the ratios in a recipe, and create something entirely new. Other times, I will take a recipe and make substitutions or shortcuts until I have to concede that the recipe is completely dissimilar to the original.
I had a lovely weekend with my boyfriend. We went to a castle, where we took a tour, and were lucky enough to browse around a medieval faire that just happened to be going on that weekend. We went to a gorgeous restaurant where he ordered rabbit, I had boar, and we each had a drink, and the whole thing cost 240 crowns (about 12 US dollars) My boar was cooked in natural juices with a bit of oil, and two kinds of sauerkraut and two kinds of dumplings. My boyfriend's rabbit was served in a carrot cream sauce with bread dumplings. Both were delicious, both were incredible value for what they were!
Yum.
Anyway, my big disappointment of the day was that the brewery attached to the castle was under reconstruction. To be finished in 2011. That would be TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN!!!!
I told my boyfriend: "That's it. We're waiting here til it's done"
"Ok" He lovingly conceded.
While I am obviously back at home, I was incredibly disappointed. So I decided to forget my unhappiness by baking brownies for my ever understanding boyfriend. It was when I was baking, that I realised the original recipe had been so far modified by me, it wasn't the original anymore.
So here is MY fudgy brownie recipe.

10.5 oz (300 g) bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup (125 g) butter

2 eggs
1/2 cup (125 g) packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (125 g) white sugar
1 tbs vanilla
1 tbs brewed black tea or instant coffee if desired
1/2 cup (125 g) flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3.5 oz (100 g) chopped bittersweet chocolate

Take the 300 g chocolate and 125 g butter and melt together. Gently.
while that is going, beat together the eggs and the sugars and the vanilla and the coffee or tea if you want (I never add the coffee/tea: too lazy) Do this rather by hand. If you use a beater, the eggs may get to thick and frothy.
Slowly add the chocolate butter melted mixture, making sure it's not to hot: it will cook the eggs if it is.
Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt)
Stir in the chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Pour into a buttered 8x8 inch pan. I use a 10 cm by 15 cm pan.
bake uncovered in a 350 F (170 c) oven for 15 minutes. Cover with foil, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven when toothpic inserted comes out almost clean. Let cool. Turn out. Cut into pieces.

Yum.

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