Helen Jackson

For some time now I have been in search of the “perfect” brownie recipe  (seeking perfect recipes is a bit of a personality flaw) which all seems fine and easy except that what I think is perfect seems to keep changing.

Our original brownie recipe ^[1] here on foodlovers is one that I have made repeatedly over the years and I still do like.  It gets fairly firm and chewy around the edges and has a chewy cake consistency.  The edges can get dry but sill in a tasty way.  TI generally add nuts  which vary between walnuts and macadamias depending on what I have on hand or I leave out  nuts and stud the surface with frozen raspberries.   Chocolate and raspberries of course are a lovely combination. This brownie is best when  pulled from the oven before it becomes over cooked as the edges can get too hard and often I slightly undercook it so as to get a fudgy moist centre.

Then earlier this year at an afternoon tea I tasted a gooey chocolate brownie ^[2] that a family friend had made and decided that it was perfect.  Almost like eating fudge (as in confectionary) mixture straight from the pot before it had set.  Having a fair amount of sugar in it there is a crisp outer shell that then cracks to expose a very soft, slightly sticky, fudgy inner.  I think it delicious.  However it is a recipe that tends to polarise people as while some have raved other cooks/readers have exclaimed “too sweet”. “sunken middle” and other such complaints.

I then sat thinking about what I really like in a brownie and decided that ground almonds and slightly more flour as an addition to the gooey brownie would give some texture to the fudge like centre, prevent the sunken middle and a little less sugar would mean there wouldn’t be a brittle shell on the outside and the quantity or sweetness wouldn’t put people off.  So I made it and yes I think it is the perfect brownie – well for now anyway!  It is soft in texture and needs to be left to cool completely before cutting.  Unlike the original brownie above it doesn’t have chew factor.
I  had to add some chopped white chocolate as well just to finish it off!  Thus it became a double chocolate brownie ^[3]

For those wanting a more healthy style brownie then do try the Healthy Food guide version ^[4] and if you really want to confuse the issue here are a selection of brownie recipes ^[5] – that include some from well known cafes from around New Zealand – from a previous forum discussion.

What do you think makes for a perfect brownie?

 

Method