The Ultimate Brownie

Rich, chocolaty, fudgy and slightly gooey with loads of nuts and chocolate chunks, this brownie is so outrageously good (or in other words, decadently sinful !).

Based on the brownie points and thumbs-up received from my most ardent chocoholic friends, I dare say that this is the ultimate brownie.  So, if you are in the mood for one of the most iconic brownies of all time, look no further and do try this recipe which I have minimally adapted from Ottolenghi the Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

I quote from Ottolenghi "There is nothing worse than a brownie that turns into a cake.  It is worse even than overdone meat".  Sounds serious.  So, here's an important tip.  The challenge with brownies is the baking time.  A minute too far, and your brownie will turn from being moist and gooey into one that is dry.  For this purpose, I always like to test with a skewer even before the recommended baking time ends.  In fact, I am an extremist, I sit in front of my oven and observe :).  For brownies, the skewer should not come out clean - It must come out covered with gooey crumbs, not dry crumbs, but not the same goo you started with.  If your skewer comes out clean (as you would want with a cake), it means you have overbaked your brownies.  Confused now ? Don't be.  If you are not too sure whether your brownies are done or not, my best advise would be to err on the side of under-baking.  Your batter will continue to cook from the residual heat of the pan when you take it out of the oven.



You will need:
200 g macadamia nuts
200 g unsalted butter, plus melted butter for greasing
280 g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
300 g bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 eggs
180 g castor sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee granules
200 g milk chocolate, chopped into pieces (or use chocolate chips)

Preparation:
Brush a 22 cm pan with melted butter, and line with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 170 deg C.

Sift together flour and salt.  Put butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the water does not come into contact with the base of the bowl. Leave to melt, stirring from time to time.  As soon as the butter and chocolate have melted, remove the bowl from the water.

In a another bowl, lightly whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla.  Add in the instant coffee, and fold in the melted chocolate mixture and then the flour.  Finally, fold in the chopped chocolates and half of the nuts.  Pour the mix into the prepared pan, and top with remaining nuts.

Place on the centre shelf of the oven, and bake for approx 25 minutes.  To ascertain doneness of the brownies, check with skewer as per instructions as above.  Once out, allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.  Cut into any shapes you fancy and keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.  But really, the brownies are so so good, it may not even see Day 2.