Fudgy Chewy Brownies

Chocolate brownies with cheese cream icing

I have decided to make the brownies as they looked quite easy to make (and being 39 weeks pregnant, I didn't have a lot of energy to stand around in the kitchen. I also feel quite nauseated making anything that is not sweet).

I probably should mention that I have never made brownies of any sort before so probably never realised how much butter, chocolate and sugar went into them (or maybe I happily blocked out that information from my mind).

I had Lindt 70% cooking chocolate at home so decided to use that instead of the cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate. I also got a bit annoyed that the editor of the book did not check each recipe properly and it was not mentioned anywhere where to add the cocoa powder (if you decided to use it). It also missed basic instructions such as oven temperate and baking tin size.

I used an approximately 20 x 20cm square tin and put the oven at 180°C. The brownies took about 40 minutes to bake with the toothpick coming out almost dry at the center (double the time it suggested in the book).

Impatience is my weakness so after they cooled enough to be cut, I tried the edges (while they were still quite warm). The brownie crumbled in my mouth and I could feel the super richness of the dark chocolate, butter and sugar. I was hesitant to add more butter by icing them but since that was part of the recipe, I had to be true to it and give it a go (especially since I bought the cream cheese specifically for that purpose).

After trying to mix the icing by hand, I got tired and pulsed it in the food processor. The quantities ended up being way too much for the size of the brownies. (I was actually quite surprised how few brownies turned out from this recipe since all the previous recipes had humongous portions.)

When my husband walked home, he could straight away smell them (who doesn't love a house smelling of freshly baked sweets?) Although he's not a fan of dark chocolate (the way I am), he liked them more than me. He did agree though that they were very rich and one little one was enough to fill you up.

For me, they were just a bit too rich, although after putting them in the fridge, in the next few days they became harder and I found them easier to eat.

Ratings

Husband: 3½ /5

Wife: 3/5

Challah Rolls

I can't believe that after giving up on my blog, I have 7 followers! I feel encouraged to start again. It's much more fun writing when other people read it.

I have made the challah rolls over a year ago and never blogged about them. Maybe they were the reason I gave up with the recipes. Having tried challah before, I was expecting some chewy soft and sweet addictively delicious bread.

They looked promising when they came out of the oven (if I ignored some slightly burnt edges). What I got was oily weird taste dry bread. There were so many of them, I didn't quite know what to do with them. I decided to take some to my grandma (who loves all things bread and doesn't like all things sweet). She kept asking me to make them months later because she loved them. I had to tell her I probably wouldn't be doing a second run ever again as the effort and time it took to make them was just not worth it.

My husband didn't mind them too much. I disliked them more than anyone.

Ratings

Husband: 3½ /5

Wife: 2 /5