Critic Goes Chef

This is the part where I turn chef.

Food has always been a large part of my family, comfort food being the main thing. My grandmother being the main food influence of my life, reinventing 70's dishes to suit slightly modern taste pallets. I still have reoccurring 'Flash Tastes" (flash taste: the memory of a taste or smell of a certain dish) of 'Pears Poached in Red Wine' at Christmas time, 'Smoked Salmon Mousse' with dill and a slight hint of lemon.

My mum on the other hand does hearty food, food that will keep you going all day such as 'Molten Chili Con Carne with Nachos', 'Honey-Glazed Cola brewed Ham' (it's not the exact title but it sums it up pretty well.) However my mum's speciality is baking. Her ability to bake to a very high standard is something that I've pinpointed my childhood spent with a bulging waistline to. Birthdays for the past 5-6 years there has been a demand of my mum's 'Gooey Chocolate Brownies'.

So due to sheer boredom and homesickness I decided to make mum's brownies. Not exactly the same but close enough for me. If you'd like to try your hands at Mummy Molony's brownies, give it a go.

Mummy Molony's Gooey Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

1 shot of espresso

375g Dark Chocolate (the darker the better)

6 eggs

500g caster sugar

1tbsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour

1tsp salt

First things first, preheat your oven to 180 degrees C/ 350 Degrees F. Rub a tiny little bit of butter onto your baking tin ( Baking Tin Size Approx: 33 x 23 x 5.5 cm.) Line the tin with parchment. The butter helps to hold the parchment in place in the tin.

1. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large pan on a very low heat. Ensure that the pan is rather large as all the mixture shall end up in it before transferring it into the baking tin. Be careful not to melt to quickly or burn as the chocolate will turn grainy and loose the smooth glossy texture.
2. In a bowl beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together, an electric mixer is good but I prefer to do it by hand. It creates an illusion of working off the calories you'll gain from the brownies.
3. In a separate bowl measure and sieve the dry ingredients together.
4. When the chocolate/butter mixture is melted fully and to the nice glossy texture, leave aside to cool slightly. Good co-ordination will be needed for the next bit, pour in the egg/sugar mixture into the chocolate mixture, beating it in making sure that the egg doesn't scramble. If it scrambles the chocolate was too hot. Add the cooled shot of espresso. Now add in the flour bit by bit.
5. Pour into the baking tin and bake for roughly 25 minutes. When it's ready the top should be a slightly paler brown. Skewer with a knife and what should still be attached to the knife should be cooked but gooey.
6. Leave to cool.
7. Enjoy
8. Deny the calories.
9. Chocolate is healthy........