The thing about cakes filled with fresh cream is that they don't last very long - they just have to be eaten .....
..... so today the 'cake tin' is empty, and I'm baking again.
Today I decided that I needed something which incorporated Nutella, having found a half-used jar that I bought for another baking project. After searching online for rec
ipes, and rejecting many because I didn't have all the ingredients, and others because they just didn't look 'right', I decided to adapt this recipe for Nutella brownies. First adaptation was to translate the American weights and volumes into metric measurements, as I just can't get on with using cups. Then I upped the chocolate a little, and decided to add some chopped toasted hazelnuts too.
The final list of ingredients was:
100g butter
100g plain chocolate (72% cocoa solids)
150g light brown muscovado sugar
2 large eggs
125g Nutella
75g plain flour
50g cocoa
50g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
I followed my usual method for making brownies, melting the butter and chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. This melted mixture was cooled slightly then the sugar was added and the mix stirred until smooth. Next, the eggs were added, one at a time, and mixed in well. After this I stirred in the Nutella, then sifted in the flour and cocoa and folded them into the mixture. Lastly the chopped nuts were folded in.
At this stage the mixture seemed very thick, and it was quite difficult to spread it into the prepared tin (8 x 8" tin, lined with baking parchment). This had me quite worried as other brownie batters I make are much runnier at this stage. The brownies were
baked as suggested in the original recipe - at 180C for 20 minutes.
Once cooled and removed from the tin, I could see that they were too shallow. I prefer a deeper brownie which will stay moist in the centre. The flavour is good - the chocolate is very intense - and the texture is dense and chewy - which is good for a brownie. Perhaps the only adjutment I need to make is baking in a smaller tin next time, or increasing the quantities of ingredients a little - 25%, say, although adjusting the eggs by that much will be inconvenient.
This recipe is a 'keeper', although it needs more work!
Today I decided that I needed something which incorporated Nutella, having found a half-used jar that I bought for another baking project. After searching online for rec
ipes, and rejecting many because I didn't have all the ingredients, and others because they just didn't look 'right', I decided to adapt this recipe for Nutella brownies. First adaptation was to translate the American weights and volumes into metric measurements, as I just can't get on with using cups. Then I upped the chocolate a little, and decided to add some chopped toasted hazelnuts too.The final list of ingredients was:
100g butter
100g plain chocolate (72% cocoa solids)
150g light brown muscovado sugar
2 large eggs
125g Nutella
75g plain flour
50g cocoa
50g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
I followed my usual method for making brownies, melting the butter and chocolate together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. This melted mixture was cooled slightly then the sugar was added and the mix stirred until smooth. Next, the eggs were added, one at a time, and mixed in well. After this I stirred in the Nutella, then sifted in the flour and cocoa and folded them into the mixture. Lastly the chopped nuts were folded in.
At this stage the mixture seemed very thick, and it was quite difficult to spread it into the prepared tin (8 x 8" tin, lined with baking parchment). This had me quite worried as other brownie batters I make are much runnier at this stage. The brownies were
baked as suggested in the original recipe - at 180C for 20 minutes.Once cooled and removed from the tin, I could see that they were too shallow. I prefer a deeper brownie which will stay moist in the centre. The flavour is good - the chocolate is very intense - and the texture is dense and chewy - which is good for a brownie. Perhaps the only adjutment I need to make is baking in a smaller tin next time, or increasing the quantities of ingredients a little - 25%, say, although adjusting the eggs by that much will be inconvenient.
This recipe is a 'keeper', although it needs more work!
4 comments:
Love the sound of this one! Think my boyfriend would adore these, he is a complete nutella addict!! :)
Hi Anne, you're very welcome as my first 'follower'.
I think the first step to improving this recipe would be to cook it in a smaller tin (say 7" square), to give a deeper brownie. I'm hoping that will be enough to make it perfect!
I just measured my square tin - its 8 inch but I have a round one thats slightly smaller, so will give it a go with that... just need to restock the nutella, it appears 'he' has already finished the last tub! :)
I finally made them yesterday! My fan oven did attempt to scorch them even at 175 but they just survived, with a minor scraping! Also had to improvise with the sugar, used 2/3 dark soft brown and 1/3 golden caster, seemed to work quite well, nice mmm filling and chocolateyness, the boyfriend was slightly concerned when I said I'd used the Nutella but he enjoyed them! (phew!)
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