Chocolate Post #4

I am a keen member of the WI, as I have said in previous posts, however, I was incredibly bored at last night's meeting. In the programme for the year we were told we would be getting a demonstration on cake decorating, which I was very much looking forward to, but when we arrived at the village hall we found out that our speaker had cancelled on us at the last minute - something our WI seems to have a serious problem with. 

'Oh no', I hear you all cry, 'what did you do?' We got taught how to make chocolate brownies........ 

I was not particularly impressed, especially when the lady (another member of my WI) started talking about this 'new idea' of having a brownie for dessert...and people wonder why younger women don't want to join! On trying the brownie at the end I was even more unimpressed.

Having gone through this last night, I thought I would knock together a related post, and so here is a brownie recipe I found only recently, but am a serious fan of it! Mainly because it isn't ruined by the addition of walnuts! I can't stand walnuts but I do think brownies need something else in them to lighten the denseness of the chocolate - in this recipe that something is cranberries, which I do rather like. When I found it in a new recipe book I've just acquired I couldn't resist giving it a go and it was well worth it! Just to clarify, I am not now teaching you how to make brownies!

The Ingredients

 Butter, chocolate, caster sugar, cocoa, eggs, plain flour, baking powder, and cranberries.

First, put the chocolate and the butter in a medium sized bowl and melt in the microwave.

In a seperate bowl, beat together the eggs and the caster sugar until pale and smooth.

Then add the melted chocolate and butter and mix thoroughly. 

Next, sift in the plain flour, cocoa, and baking powder, and combine.

Finally, carefully fold in the cranberries.

Spoon into a rectangular tin, once again I am using my much favoured silicone one, and bake.

Remove from the oven when the top has become crisp and pale, and is beginning to crack.

When it has cooled slightly, cut it into squares (or as close to squares as you can get) and leave to cool on a wire rack.

And there you have a beautiful chocolate brownie with a slight twist because of the cranberries. The texture is the perfect combination of crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle, while the cranberries take the edge off the chocolate just the right amount.

If you're feeling really adventurous, why not try this 'new idea', and serve it warm with ice cream and chocolate sauce for a very nice dessert.

Oh the hilarity! Enjoy!

Kate

xxx