Recipe for success

Little did I know when I first opened the Hamlyn All-Colour cookbook as a child that I was launching a lifetime of happy baking. The recipe on this page alone (chocolate brownies from the Favourite Family Cakes chapter) was the starting point for a long but happy search for the perfect brownie. This one was only wheeled out on very special occasions at home - a luxury bake if you will. Mind you, those occasions seem to have been quite frequent, judging by the stained and much used page (the fact that flapjacks occupy the opposite page in the cookbook also accounts for much of the staining - another favourite of mine).

I'm planning to create a page in my blog devoted entirely to my favourite recipes. As I'm currently on holidays, it might be a few weeks before that gets going, so in the meantime I thought I'd share this old favourite. A fabulously more-ish chocolatey morsel, the brownie component is more cake-like in texture than squidgy brownie, but this works as a brilliant counterpoint to the icing. The gooey chocolate fudge icing is poured over the brownie once it's baked, taking it from average tray-bake cake to a spectacular special (any!) occasion treat. Given enough time, the icing will set and you can cut nice, neat squares, though I'm not always patient enough (witness this photo from my blog post in June, with the brownies featuring as a surprise birthday treat for my youngest sister). 

The original recipe (as with the other sweet recipes in the Hamlyn book) was written by the inimitable Mary Berry, so is as tasty and reliable as they come. I tweak it slightly now, adding a smidge of coffee to boost the chocolatey goodness and using butter instead of margarine (the latter being de rigueur in the 70s). If you're intending to give these a go (please do!),  use a very good quality cocoa powder if you can. Green & Black do a brilliant organic one that has a fabulously rich, dark colour and an intense chocolate flavour (it can be hard to get as Tesco have stopped stocking it, but most health shops have it, as does the wonderful Fallon & Byrne if you're in Dublin). Cadbury's Bournville cocoa just isn't the same but if that's all you can get, it will certainly do (after all, it's what I used for years before anything else became available). Finally, don't over-bake the brownie (25 minutes in my oven is plenty although the original recipe is for 35 mins, so be sure to check it after 25 mins). You'll know it's done if the top springs back when you gently press it; or use the skewer test - insert a skewer into the middle and if it comes out clean (i.e. no crumbs / batter on it), then it's done. 

So here you are, one recipe for chocolate brownies with a fudgy icing. One small caveat - the original recipe is in imperial measures rather than metric, which I still use when the recipe calls for it as my kitchen scales does both (most do actually). The next time I make these, I will convert to metric and check the measurements, but I wouldn't like to do it now and lead you astray with a dodgy recipe. If you can cope with ounces rather than grams for now, then this is a quick, easy and delicious recipe, so bake and enjoy!

Chocolate Brownies with Fudge Icing Ingredients:
Brownies
4oz.self-raising flour
1.5 oz. cocoa
4oz. butter (regular Irish salted butter is fine)
4oz. soft brown sugar 
2 large eggs, beaten (just to break them up - a quick whisk with a fork will do)
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (make sure it's instant so it can dissolve into the batter)

Icing
1oz. cocoa
3 tablespoons evaporated milk (make sure it's not condensed milk)
4oz.icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Grease an oblong tin, about 30cm x 15cm and 3cm deep - I usually line the tin with baking parchment to make it easier to pop out. Sieve together flour, espresso powder and cocoa. In another bowl beat butter and sugar until light and creamy (this is, naturally, much easier with an electric mixer and takes 5-10 minutes. It can also be achieved with a wooden spoon and a lot of elbow grease - you have been warned). Add eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition (f it looks like your mixture is curdling, simply add in a teaspoon full or so of the flour mix to bring it back, in between each addition). Fold sieved ingredients into mixture with milk, taking care not to over beat the batter - just mix until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Turn into prepared tin.

Bake at 180 degrees (fan oven) for about 25-35 minutes until centre of sponge springs back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool in tin.
Melt butter for icing. Add cocoa. Cook over low heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add evaporated milk, stirring to incoporate it into the butter and cocoa. You'll find that it thickens drastically and rather quickly, but that's ok, it will loosen out again to pouring consistency once you add the icing sugar. Mix in thoroughly. Spread over cake in tin and leave to set (if you're patient enough), then cut into as many pieces as feels right to you - although the mixture should provide 12-15, sometimes you just need a bigger brownie, so I'll leave it up to you!