Monday, May 9, 2011

Butterscotch brownies


They might be ugly, but the taste... it’s heaven! I still wonder how I’ve managed to convince my family to leave those last two bits so that I could take pictures. I should have become a lawyer;)

The recipe comes from this (great!) blog:


  • 75g (½ cup) flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 65g (¼ cup) unsalted butter
  • 215g (1 cup, packed) brown sugar
  • 1 large (59g) egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I used homemade)
  • 55g (½ cup) chopped walnuts OR extra 90g (½ cup) chocolate chips
  • 90g (½ cup) semisweet chocolate chips
These are the original ingredients. I didn’t have walnuts at home, so I used coarsely chopped blanched almonds. I also let my imagination run wild and apart from chocolate chips I added one twix bar, cut into small pieces:)
„1.  Preheat the oven to 175C/350F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. Line a  20cm/8″ square pan or a 31 x 14cm/12 x 5½” biscotti pan with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and stir together with a fork.
4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat, then add the brown sugar and stir briefly until softened and moist.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes (this bit is important – or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs and melted chocolate).
5. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly stir in the egg and vanilla until incorporated.  Add in the flour and baking powder, and stir vigorously to combine.  Gently mix in the walnuts and chocolate.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and gently work it into the corners.  There’s not a lot of batter, so expect a fairly thin coverage over the base of the pan.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the top feels just firm.  The original recipe said to test with an inserted toothpick, but there’s usually so much chocolate in mine that it’s hard to judge.
Remove from the oven and allow the brownies to rest in the pan for at least half an hour before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. The brownies will sink a little as they cool.”

Enjoy!



Friday, May 6, 2011

mazurki - Polish Easter cakes.

They were so good! Too bad we only eat them once a year...
Pictures taken by Filip Plewiński:)

marzipan - rose preserves - dark chocolate:

orange:



walnut:



caramel - chocolate - hazelnut:


Saturday, December 4, 2010

Outrageous chocolate cookies


Incredible cookies. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, outrageously full of chocolate. One Spanish chocolate addict almost cried when he tasted them. Enough advertising, let’s start baking!
I’ve found this Martha Stewart’s recipe on Patricia’s beautiful blog:)
With dedication to Alvaro:)

Ingredients:
  • 8 ounces (224g) semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup (94g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup (132g) packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 package (12 ounces/ 336g) semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
  • Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen, I got 19.





Monday, September 6, 2010

Kulki bounty






Smakują jak batonik bounty i nie wymagają pieczenia. Potrzebowałam więcej czekolady niż podano w oryginalnym przepisie, bo obtaczanie nią kulek wymaga wprawy. Bardzo polecam: proste w przygotowaniu i pyszne! Przepis pochodzi z blogu "mojewypieki".


Składniki:
  • 200g wiórków kokosowych
  • 100ml śmietanki kremówki
  • 70g cukru pudru
  • 70g masła
  • 200g mlecznej czekolady (potrzebowałam ok 300g)
  • można dodać kilka kropli aromatu rumowego (nie dodawałam)


Wykonanie:
  • W naczyniu mieszamy wiórki z cukrem pudrem. 
  • W garnuszku podgrzewamy kremówkę i masło, aż masło się rozpuści. Tak przygotowaną masę wlewamy na wiórki, dodajemy aromatu i mieszamy.
  • Z powstałej mikstury formujemy kulki wielkości orzecha włoskiego. Układamy je na papierze do pieczenia, przykrywamy folią aluminiową i wkładamy do lodówki na około godzinę. 
  • Warto wyjąć je z lodówki i jeszcze raz porządnie ścisnąć każdą kulkę, by potem nie rozpadały się w kontakcie z ciepłą czekoladą, potem schłodzić jeszcze pół godziny.
  • Rozpuszczamy czekoladę (w mikrofali albo w kąpieli wodnej). Każdą kulkę zanurzamy w czekoladzie i wykładamy na papier. Czekolada musi stwardnieć, najlepiej więc przygotowane batoniki włożyć na jakiś czas do lodówki.