easy breezy fudge brownies with sliced almonds on top

Chocolate is one of life’s luxuries and one of the few that we can all afford. Nothing beats the pleasure of hot chocolate on a cold morning or on one of those gloomy days and is equally hard to resist the luxuriant and richness of sumptuous chocolate cakes and gateaux…with layers of oomph…that lures the temptation further…and no baking is complete without the chocolates.  For chocoholics like me, it marks the beginning and end of …everything. From simple milk chocolate to white chocolate, everyone has their fantasy weaved around this single block of dark brown chocolate with a silken sheen. Some are fun with nuts and wafers interlacing with the rich and gooey chocolate taste, some are pure indulgence and some…absolutely rich and sinful..dark..bitter chocolate with a hint of mint..thats my flavour..

When life gives you chocolate, make brownies…fudgy or cakey..its your choice and make sure a single bite is not enough…it will disappear in few nano seconds leaving only the crumbs in your hands which can weave into some story, some mischiefs which remains to unfold…yet another story.

There are cupcake wars going on everywhere…there are brownie wars too, some hardliners want fudgy one, some are settled for cake like obsessions, the clever one find the middleway…neither fudgy nor cakey…a cross between the two…but its a matter of personal taste and choice…I have simply trailed behind … joy of baking…her videos makes it lot more easier for amateur baker like me who has ended up with a cracked crust but a wonderful moist texture and a deep chocolate flavour with some sliced almonds resting on top.

Ingredients :

Bitter sweet chocolate ( I have used Lindt dark chocolate) : 150 gm
Unsalted butter : 1 stick (1/2 cup)
Cocoa powder : 2-3 tbsp ( I have used Godiva un-sweetened cocoa)
Sugar (granular) : 1 cup
Eggs : 2 large (though the recipe calls for 3 large eggs)
Vanilla extract : 1 tsp
All purpose flour : 3/4 cup
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Almond flakes or chopped walnuts and pecan for topping (optional)

Method :

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.

Grease a non-stick 9*9 square pan.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and add the softened butter to it. A double boiler is a kind of arrangement where you place a bowl with chocolate on a saucepan of boiling water, water should not touch the base of the bowl. This is the way to melt the chocolates.

Sift the flour and cocoa together, I find this is the best way to mix cocoa powder, rather than adding directly to a liquid. Beat the eggs separately with vanilla extract in it.

Add sugar to the molten chocolate, mix it well till the sugar dissolves completely, add the flour-cocoa mix and salt to the bowl of molten chocolate. Blend them well till you see no lumps.

Pour the mixture into a square pan and bake it for 35 minute.

Baking time varies according to the size of pan, if you are in doubt, then bake till the blunt knife inserted in the middle comes out clean with few soft batter clings to it. Switch off the oven and let it be there for 5 minute more.

Remove from oven, cool it on a cooling rack for 15-20 minutes before cutting them into squares.

Grab a piece before they get vanished, and do not forget to reserve some pieces, tightly secured in a container to photograph them at leisure.

Let yourself indulge into this rich, chocolatey and chewy brownie, I don’t like frosting on brownies, but you can frost it if you wish, make it more rich and extravagant.

Some pieces of this brownie has been shared with Priya & Aipi’s bookmark tuesdays and Jabeen’s iftaar nights.

Happy baking

Sukanya