Everyday Brownies by Nigella Lawson – What are everyday brownies and how are they different from chocolate brownies? Madhushree had the answers ready. 

There can be various reasons for Nigella Lawson to be like a centrespread of a 1970’s Playboy magazine in the cooking world but keeping aside all the factors, she makes cooking look easy. She personifies sinful eating in her shows which tickles all the sensory nerves possible.

Is chocolate brownie the easiest dessert to make? I have no idea as I don’t bake at home. I haven’t baked anything in my life till now. 

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I love to eat chocolate brownie and many a times for a non dessert loving person like me, chocolate brownie has been a great source of comfort. How should I explain the smell in house when a brownie is being baked? It’s the scent of butter, chocolate and vanilla mixed together creating a tantalizing sensation. It is the feeling of happiness just like the time when you see the first clouds of autumn (a tell – tale sign of steadily approaching Durga Puja), listen to any of the background pieces of Satyajit Ray or a cricket writing by Harsha Bhogle. 

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Unlike most of the other baking at home, which makes subtle noises like a whole lot of things spread on the dining table, Tugga excitedly jumping around to help Madhushree; these Chocolate brownies gets made silently and the father and son duo comes to know about the chocolate brownie when the baking tray is kept for cooling on the dining table. 

Did you know 

Some myths state that a chef accidentally added melted chocolate to some biscuits, or was baking cake but didn’t have enough flour; still others say that a housewife in Bangor, Maine, forgot to add baking powder to her chocolate cake. But most evidence points to one source: Chefs at Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel, who created the tasty treat for the World Columbian Exposition of 1893. In case you know anything more about this, then let me know. Ref – here

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Between the baking tray cooling off and the entire batch of chocolate brownie ending, no one keeps a time as all fail. The chocolate brownie makes a silent entry with morning tea, proudly goes with Tugga’s tiffin and like a clandestine affair, plays peek a boo in a mid meal break.  

These everyday brownies are a part of the household and can be found on most of the days lying here and there. The everyday brownies can be baked with everyday ingredients found in most kitchens. There is no requirement for high quality dark chocolate or cooking chocolate. Instead it can be made with some cocoa powder and plain old milk chocolate. There are no complex techniques involved and in just under 10 mins, it can be shoved inside the oven. 

One of the most common mistakes in a chocolate brownie is when its dry and it crumbles or it has got very cake like structure or it’s too dense. It may sound easy to make but maintaining a perfect balance between baking powder, time in oven gets critical. 

Let us wait when the next batch comes to table for cooling off. 

Add this recipe to Yummly ? – Yum

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Everyday brownies- Nigella Lawson

I had taken this recipe from one of Nigella Lawson's tv shows a long time back. It is a fool proof recipe. Works every time and is extremely easy to bake. -Madhushree
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Cakes and Bakes, Non Vegetarian
Cuisine European
Servings 16 pieces

Ingredients
  

  • 200 gms milk chocolate
  • 150 gms Butter
  • 300 gms light muscovado sugar see notes
  • 75 gms cocoa
  • 150 gms All purpose flour
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 4 nos Eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions
 

  • Chop the milk chocolate into small pieces. In Indian climatic conditions, milk chocolate melts fast. So keep it in the freezer while preparing the rest.
  • In a saucepan or a heavy bottomed pan, melt the butter (chopped into small cubes, then it melts faster).
  • Add the sugar and cocoa. Stir it and then add the flour with the baking soda. Give it one mix and then take the pan off the heat.
  • Beat the 4 eggs with the vanilla and add it to the batter.
  • There is no need to work hard behind making a smooth batter. It can be all cluggy and still alright. Just make sure that the eggs have been incorporated thoroughly.
  • After this, taken the chopped milk chocolate nuggets out of the freezer and add to the batter. give it a gentle swirl. The reason I put the chocolates in the freezer is this. The batter is anyway a little warm which might completely melt the chocolate in case not frozen. This way they retain some of their shape.
  • Grease and flour a brownie tin (11.5 x 9.5 inches or similar or closer size). You can even stick butter paper to the bottom using little batter.
  • Pour the batter in the pan and using a spatula, gently spread the batter to all corners evenly.
  • Place it in the middle rack of a preheated oven at 180 degrees c and bake for 20 to 25 mins. When you place a skewer inside to check whether the brownie is done or not, a little bit can stick to the skewer. That is the consistency you would want.
  • Take it out and let it cool down before taking it out of the tray or the brownie may break. Once cooled down, dust icing sugar (completely optional) and then cut into euqal squares.
  • Serve immediately or store in an air tight container.

Notes

  1. For a humid place like Kolkata, if we have by chance not finished the brownies in a couple of days, then I put it into the refrigerator. But that has very rarely happened.
  2. If you do not find muscavado sugar, then use the same quantity of caster sugar and change the quantity of butter to 175 gm and cocoa to 100 gm.
  3. Muscavado sugar is similar to powdered Gur. I have used that sometimes and it works fine.