THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB: TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

The last Monday of the month is the much awaited Reveal Day for Group D of The Secret Recipe Club!  For those who don’t know about it,  The Secret Recipe is an event in which food bloggers from the same group are paired (in secret), and have about 3 weeks to choose a recipe from their assigned blog, cook it, and compose a blog.  Everyone publishes their post on reveal day at the exact same time. How cool is that?  If you want to become a member (beware, there is a waiting list), visit the site and get in touch with Amanda, the founder of this fun group.

For my sixth participation at the SRC I was paired with “The More than Occasional Baker”,  a virtual spot hosted by a very accomplished baker from London.   She defines herself as a “baking addict”, and as I browsed through her blog, it was clear she was not kidding!  What is a poor cake-o-phobe blogger to do when faced with such a Herculean task?  Knowing my limitations, I searched for something that wouldn’t involve creaming butter with sugar, preparing an Italian meringue, or handling icing bags.  Suddenly, three beautiful words comforted my soul:  triple chocolate brownies.   Anything with triple chocolate makes me go weak in the  knees, and I am quite fond of brownies because for the most part they are fuss-free.   Plus, once I read her post about the recipe,  I wanted to stop everything and go buy  the three kinds of chocolate (and a little extra of the white, just because… 😉 )

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
(from The More than Occasional Baker)

200g bittersweet chocolate (1 cup)
50g milk chocolate (1/4 cup)
225g butter (1 cup  or 2 sticks)
4 eggs
325g unrefined golden caster sugar (I used light brown sugar) (1 + 1/2 cups)
0.5 tbsp  vanilla essence
200g white chocolate (1 cup)
150g plain flour, sifted (1 + 1/2 cup)
pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 360 F (180 C).  Line a baking dish (11in x 7in x 2.5 in) with parchment paper.  Break the bittersweet and milk chocolate into pieces, and melt in the microwave with the butter.  Let the mixture cool slightly.
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Chop the white chocolate not too finely. Reserve.
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In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk this mixture in the cooled chocolate/butter, then fold the flour, the salt, and finally the chunks of white chocolate.
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Pour the mixture in the prepared baking dish, place in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is dry and cracked, and the center still moist when tested with a toothpick.
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Remove from the oven, cool over a rack, and when the brownie is at room temperature, remove from the pan and cut in squares.
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ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  If you are not too fond of white chocolate, MAKE THESE BROWNIES ANYWAY.  They are amazing!  We took them to the lab to celebrate one of our students passing his qualifying exam, and they disappeared in a few minutes!  The crumbs left on the serving plate were fought over with  considerable enthusiasm by two members of our group, normally quite well-mannered.

They are fudgy, dense, moist, sweet, decadent, with a nice crunchy surface that provides a perfect contrast with the creamy center.    The white chocolate, kept in chunks, is a superb touch, don’t skip it. I didn’t add nuts (macadamia would be the number 1 choice), because one of our students is allergic to them.

I couldn’t be happier with this month’s adventure!  Stop by “The More than Occasional Baker” to see all the goodies she makes on a regular basis.  Maybe I should become a more regular baker myself  😉

Check out all other posts from bloggers in my group, by clicking on the blue frog at the very end of this post…

ONE YEAR AGO: Springtime Salad

TWO YEARS AGO: Indonesian Delight

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