Oct 10

Cookbook 13: Brownies, Fudges & Toppings

I decided that it was time for more sweet things, and this week looked at the Family Circle mini cookbook on Brownies, Fudges & Toppings (now out of print).  The recipes are all straight forward, the instructions clear (and obviously tested) and they are so very very very tasty.Two-tone Fudge Brownies

Ingredients:

Chocolate mixture

  • 60g butter
  • 90g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup plain flour

White chocolate mixture

  • 60 g butter
  • 90g white chocolate buttons (I just used white cooking chocolate)
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup plain flour

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C.  Lightly brush a 20cm square tin with melted butter or oil and line the base with baking paper, extending over 2 sides.
  2. To make the chocolate mixture: Stir the butter and chocolate in a small bowl, over a pan of simmering water, until just melted. Using a wooden spoon, beat the sugar, vanilla essence and egg in a medium bowl until combined; stir in the chocolate mixture.  Add the flour, stirring until just combined; don’t overbeat.
  3. To make the white chocolate mixture: Stir the butter and white chocolate in a small bowl, over a pan of simmering water, until just melted. Using a wooden spoon, beat the sugar, vanilla essence and egg in a medium bowl until combined; stir in the white chocolate mixture.  Add the flour, stirring until just combined; don’t overbeat.
  4. Drop large spoonfuls of the mixtures alternatively and evenly, next to one another, in a single layer, in the tin.  Gently smooth the surface, without combining the mixtures.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until firm.  Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into small pieces.

Notes on this recipe:

  • The white chocolate mixture was much runnier than the chocolate one.  I think this was in part because the chocolate mixture had time to cool while I was preparing the white chocolate.  This did not in any way change the flavour of the dish, it just made it harder to do the spoonfuls of each mixture as the white one attempted to run everywhere into the pan.

Jaffa Brownies

Ingredients:

Orange Mixture

  • 60g butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
  • 185g cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup plain flour

Chocolate mixture

  • 185g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 45g butter, chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 1/4 cup self-raising flour

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C.  Lightly brush a 20cm x 30cm lamington tin with melted butter or oil and line the base with baking paper extending over 2 sides.
  2. To make the orange mixture: In a small bowl, using electric beaters, beat the butter, orange rind and cream cheese for 2  – 3 minutes until creamy.  Gradually add the caster sugar and then the eggs, a little at a time.  Stir in the flour and set aside.
  3. To make the chocolate mixture: Melt the chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl, over a pan of boiling water, stirring occasionally.  Set aside to cool.  In a small bowl, using electric beaters, beat the eggs and sugar for 2 – 3 minutes until thick and creamy.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add the cooled chocolate to the bowl, stir until combined and stir in the combined sifted flours.
  4. To assemble, pour about two-thirds of the Chocolate Mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly.  Pour the Orange Mixture over the top and smooth the surface.  Using a spatula, make three trenches, evenly spaced across the mixture.  Pour the remaining Chocolate Mixture into the trenches.  Use the spatula to cut and spread the Chocolate Mixture through the Orange Mixture, to create a marbled effect.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until firm.  Allow brownies to cool in the tin before cutting into pieces.  Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Notes on this recipe:

  • Again the mixtures were of different thicknesses which made it hard to follow the assembly instructions, but it still worked
  • I used a square tin which meant that this took longer to cook and it dried out a bit in the oven. This brownie definitely needs a rectangular tin to cook evenly.

Baked bananas with butterscotch sauce

This is actually the combination of two of the recipes in the book, but I thought why not, bananas and butterscotch sauce is awesome. The banana recipe feeds 4, so increase or decrease as per the number of people you have. The butterscotch sauce goes a long way, and needs to be made before the bananas so it thickens while the bananas bake.

Butterscotch sauce

Ingredients:

  • 125g butter
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed soft, brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons golden syrup
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

  1. Stir the butter and sugar in a pan over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
  2. Add the golden syrup and cream to pan, reduce the heat; simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce has slightly thickened.
  3. Remove from heat; add the vanilla.  Serve hot or at room temperature.  Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Baked bananas

Ingredients:

  • 30g butter
  • 1 tablespoon soft, brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 tablespoon rum
  • 4 large bananas

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200C.
  2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the sugar, allspice and rum.  Cook the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Peel the bananas, cut into chunks and place in an ovenproof dish.  Pour the butter mixture over the bananas.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes, remove and pour the butterscotch sauce over the top.