Brownies by Request

Mmmmm brownies. My favourite recipe for brownies is from Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2 (it's reproduced in her Simple Essentials Chocolate book with 1/4 of a cup less flour). I had a special request for brownies about a week ago and didn't quite make it happen, so with the rain pouring down outside today I thought it was a good day for their chocolatey rich goodness. Unfortunately, despite making these more than 10 times before, today they didn't turn out the best. I could have denied the disaster, but would that offend the blogging gods?

As you can see, I was unable to keep all the yolks together when I cracked the eggs - I think it looks like a smiley face sticking its tongue out.

The cocoa I use is Cote d'Ivoire Red African Cocoa from Coffee Snobs which is 100% cocoa, no sugar, no fillers, no dairy, no nuts,  gluten free and delicious. I usually use a 60-70% dark chocolate like Lindt when I make these, but this time I used Cadbury Old Gold mildly dark chocolate (45%) as there were 8 220g blocks sitting in the pantry from a special offer that involved the purchase of 12 blocks for $5.99 from 1-day!   Unfortunately I can't blame my failure on using a different chocolate than usual, as I have produced quality brownies using this chocolate before.

I thought I'd make brownie muffins, and just reduce the cooking time. Can you say burnt? How about stuck?

They were only a little crisp on top and I didn't need to actually present them to anyone except my boyfriend, who luckily understands that I can't always be perfect, and the deliciousness was still there - a little drier than normal, but still quite good.

What did I learn today?

1. Don't decide that your baking powder is probably a bit old and throw in a bit more to compensate, it's a brownie, not a volcano, it doesn't really need to rise that much.
   
2. Donna knows best. If she says use a slice tin, use a slice tin.
3. Give up on maintaining a constant temperature in my oven, or even achieving the temperature I want - today it was set at 220, preheated for 30 minutes, and fluctuated from 130 to 190, when I wanted 160.

Chocolate Brownies - Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2

200g dark chocolate, chopped

250g butter, chopped

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Place the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

Place the sugar, eggs, cocoa, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Pour the mixture into a 20cm square slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 50 minutes or until set. Cool slightly in the tin.