Some people cover their feelings with food. Some people try and drown out their sorrows by drinking.
Sorry about the weird lighting in the photos. I was too preoccupied with the wonders before me to really care haha. Until now.
I bake out my stresses and woes.
Im currently on day three of my chocolate baking bender.
So in the last week I am pretty sure I have been to New World like every day to buy more ingredients.
The peak of this tragic behaviour was when I went to New World twice within twelve hours and purchased six blocks of chocolate, a kilo of butter, more chocolate chips, a nice big jar of peanut butter and a bottle of cream.
You know magic is about to happen when those items fill up your basket.
Four days ago I somehow ended up following Butter Baking on instagram. I seriously do not know how. Anyway she posted these delicious looking cookies so I went to go check out her blog.
Oh. My. God.
I died and went to blogging heaven.
So. Much. Great.
Almost everything contains chocolate or nutella or peanut butter or a combination of all three! So I jumped up off my seat in the commerce building (where I was just chilling at the time even though I don't do anything commercy at all) and went with my dear friend Matt to New World. So this is how all that chocolate and cream came to be in my shopping basket.
www.butterbaking.com
Go there. Like now!
So anyway I recreated her pretzel, chocolate chip, peanut butter brownies.
Sorry about the weird lighting in the photos. I was too preoccupied with the wonders before me to really care haha. Until now.
Anyway, pretty sure all the crack dealers are about to go out of business.
Ok I know the idea of pretzels sounds strange especially in a chocolate brownie but how many of you love putting jam and peanut butter together? or maple syrup on your bacon? The combination of salty and sweet, creamy and crunchy, moist and fudgy, it is just amazing. Trust me.
I did make a few adjustments to her recipe, mainly out of lack of the appropriately coloured chocolate chips! But also I decided to use brown sugar instead of white. I had enough of the white. I think it is because I wanted a really dark colour. I dunno. I always feel cookies are better with brown sugar so why not brownies. Brown sugar contains molasses which gives whatever you use it in a more intense colour and flavour. Yum. I actually just used muscovado sugar in my chocolate cupcakes today. They turned out so great! the flavour was really intensified!
So yes. Make this brownie. It will change your life.
Tripe Chocolate, Peanut Butter Truffle and Pretzel Brownie
adapted from the recipe by Butter Baking
Makes a 20x30cm brownie
For the peanut butter truffles:
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used extra crunchy!)
30g butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup icing sugar
For the most amazing brownies of your life:
225g butter
1 3/4 cups soft brown sugar
1 cup and 2 tablespoons cocoa
100g good quality dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids is enough)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or melts
1/2 cup white chocolate melts
1 cup pretzels plus a few extra to dot over the top
All of the peanut butter truffle balls made above
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
To make the truffles, melt the butter and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Once they have melted together, add in the brown sugar. Stir until it dissovles. Then gradually add in the icing sugar and stir until it is all nicely combined. Remove from the heat. Take half teaspoon amounts and roll into balls. Place in a plastic container and pop that in the freezer while you go and make your brownie.
To make the brownie, preheat your oven to 170 degrees C and line your baking tray with baking paper.
In a double boiler (ie a heat proof bowl balanced over a saucepan with a few centimetres of simmering water beneath it) melt together the chocolate and butter, being careful not to burn the chocolate. I find melting the butter a bit first before adding the chocolate helps. Then add the brown sugar, cocoa and vanilla and stir until it is all combined.
Transfer this mixture into a larger mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand cake mixer. Beat the mixture just to make sure it is nice and smooth.
Add your eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition. The mixture should now be nice and thick and glossy.
Add the flour and stir only as many times as it takes for any visible flour to disappear.
Mix in the pretzels, chocolate melts and peanut butter truffle balls.
Press the mixture into the lined baking tin. Dot a few whole pretzels over the top and sprinkle over the sea salt flakes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (I baked mine for 24 and I think it could have done with only 23). You do still want a skewer to come out slightly gooey.
Leave to cool before slicing or else it will just goo out everywhere. Which I guess isn't a bad thing.
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| This is why you are going to want to beat it properly |
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| To easily separate eggs, break them into your hands and use your fingers to sieve out the white. |
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| This is how lovely and glossy it should look after all the eggs |
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| Post flour addition |
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| Could this get any better? |
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| The answer is yes. yes it can. |
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| Try cutting the corners of your paper to get a more fitted lining |
Go for a run in preparation for eating the whole lot because there is no way you can run after eating these things!
The neighbours the other day helped me break into my flat. Lucy was away in Christchurch and Alex just left me on the doorstep with all our shopping (we both forgot our keys). Thank God for neighbours!
So I sent them a thank you :)
Enjoy!
xx