SINFUL BROWNIES

My daughter graduated from LKG a few days back. She loves chocolate cakes. So just to have a small celebration of our own at home I decided to bake her the most sinful brownies that she would not forget the taste of for at least some time. 

Brownies are a bit different from the regular cakes. They are more dense because they don't rise and have a cracked top post baking. Brownies are somewhere between a cake and a cookie. The brownie recipe that I have used is by Donna Hay. It's a very easy and quick recipe and one really can't go wrong with it. 

Why I call my brownies 'sinful' is because I topped them up with vanilla buttercream and further added a layer of chocolate ganache. Who doesn't love some more chocolate?

The smile that my girl had on her face after seeing these brownies was priceless. Sometimes such moments are so encouraging. 

Although this post will have the buttercream and ganache recipe, I will write a detailed post for it later.

The brownies, separately, also go very well with ice cream and some chocolate sauce. So I case you are short of time you could just make the brownies and enjoy them as they are. 

Chocolate Brownies 

Ingredients:

Butter - 150 gms

Caster sugar - 1 1/4 cups

Cocoa powder - 3/4 cups

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Eggs - 3

All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup

Icing/ confectioners sugar - 2 cups

Milk - 1-2 tbsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Chocolate Ganache 

Ingredients:

Dark chocolate - 100 gms 

Cream - 50 gms

1. Preheat the oven at 160 degrees.

2. Heat butter, sugar, and cocoa powder in a saucepan till the butter melts and all three ingredients mix well.

3. Spoon the mixture in a bowl and let it come to room temperature. 

4. Add vanilla essence and eggs and whisk well until combined.

5. Add the flour and whisk well.

6. Take a square baking tin and grease the bottom with butter. Cut the parchment paper much bigger in size than the tin so that when placed in the tin there is some paper that comes out of the sides. This will make it easy for us to pull the brownies out once the buttercream and ganache has been put on them. 

7. Pour the batter in the prepared tin and bake at 160 degrees for 25-30 mins.

8. When done do not take it out of the tin Let it cool.

9. While the cake cools,prepare the buttercream.

10. Take softened unsalted butter in a mixing bowl and whisk it with an electric beater for at least 2-3 minutes.

11. Add the icing sugar gradually and keep mixing until all of the icing sugar is finished.

12. Add in the vanilla essence and mix well.

13. If the consistency of the frosting is very thick then add milk in it, one spoon at a time and mixing well after every addition. The frosting should be of spreadable consistency.

14. Spread the frosting evenly on the cooled brownie cake and let it chill in the fridge for 15 mins.

 In the mean while prepare the chocolate ganache.

15. In a mixing bowl, take chopped dark chocolate.

16. Pour the cream in the bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds. Mix it well. If some chocolate chunks are still not melted then heat for 30 seconds more. Mix well till all the chocolate is melted.

17. Let it come to room temperature. Then pour it over the buttercream and spread it evenly.

18. Keep in fridge for 30 mins. 

19. Using a knife release the sides and pull out the brownie cake by holding the extra parchment paper on the sides of the tin.

20. Cut the cake in squares and serve.