I don't know what to say about this recipe. Perhaps I can best describe this experience as a little Manic Depressive. The highs were high and the lows were low. I was super pumped about making this because A) I have never made flourless brownies before B) husband LOVES brownies C) I love baking. However yesterday I awoke with a sore throat and a depleated energy level. Not cool. I decided to go ahead with making this recipe anyhow though. Putting the ingredients together was not a problem and I was feeling really good about this because the mix gives you that feeling of anticipation that only choclate can give you. I was also excited because I had found some fair trade organic sugar to use for baking. I'm going thru a food revolution on a personal level and educating myself about the foods I eat. Did you know that refined sugar (the "normal" sugar) is filtered thru animal bones? Kinda gross...But this sugar I found is herbicide free, chemical free, bleach free not filtered thru animal by-products and is Fair Trade (guaranteeing that the farmer is directly paid a fair price for his/her product). So I was very excited about using this sugar to say the least.
Anyhow, I put the batter in the oven and set my timer for 25 minutes. Nigella tells me that when I pull the brownies out "the top will be set but the mixture will still be gooey". So at 25 min the top is set but I still thought it should stay in a bit longer. So I give it an extra 5 minutes as Nigella also says it may take 25-30 minutes. After 30 minutes total, I take the brownies out. The top is nicely set but when I do the toothpick test I'm thinking it's really quite "gooey". However, I decide to trust Nigella and let this cool to set. After about 30 minutes husband comes sniffing around looking for a brownie. I'm thinking this should be set by now so I tell him to go ahead. When he cuts in it's like a thick chocolate soup in the middle....Not set. He says "Uh..is this supposed to be like this?" I say "Well, it is supposed to be 'gooey'. " So he eats it.
I really don't know how he ate this because it was a mess..but he did. About an hour after this I check the brownies again..they're not anymore set. So I put them back in the oven and set the timer for 5 minutes and go watch some TV. I'm watching some show - I can't even remember what but after about 15 minutes I suddenly smell the most glorious smell and think to myself. 'Yum! something smells good!' after which I immediately think 'SHIT'. I'd forgotten about my brownies and not heard the timer go off. I jumped off the couch which was really saying something because like I said before I wasn't feeling my best. But I rush into the kitchen and pull out the brownies. Luckily they weren't burnt - they actually looked pretty perfect. So I set them out to cool and then today I finally tried one.
Now don't hate - but I'm really not much of a brownie person. I've told you before that I'm not crazy about desserts. Brownies are really Husband's thing. Nigella says to serve this with ice cream and chocolate sauce but the thought of all that richness just makes me feel ill. I decided to eat this with Strawberries and Bananas. This was a genius idea. I really can't take the chocolately richness of a brownie but the fruit cut that richness and really complemented the chocolate and nut flavours of the brownie. If you love brownies you will really like this recipe. Just make sure you cook it long enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment