Valentine’s: Blondies & Brownies

I want to start this post by saying thank you for the lovely comments I’ve received this month. Instagramers (IGers) have said that I inspire them to try baking bread for the first time. And others have tried recipes from this blog.

Fellow IGers @thebaldybaker and @krissykakesofficial have tried making the Coconut & Lime tea Loaf recipe with their own tweaks from my blog. Don’t they look delicious! Inspired? You can have a go making your own by following the recipe here.

@thebaldybaker Ginger, orange & cardamon tea loaf
@krissykakesofficial Coconut & lime tea loaf

IGers inspire me all the time so it’s nice to give something back :-) It has really brightened up what has been a bit of a dreary month for me.  I wasn’t very confident in starting this blog last month but have been encouraged by you to keep writing!

Anyways, all this happy/lovey-ness leads me nicely into today’s celebration – Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine's everyone!





I’ve been trialing a Blondies and Brownies recipes this week in the lead up to today. In the past I haven’t had much success with other recipes I’ve tried. They always turned out like really dry cakey awfulness. I had a go at making Rachel Allen’s ‘Peanut butter and white chocolate blondies’ and ‘Rich hazelnut brownies’ from her Bake book. These turned out decent, except I would bake the Blondies for less time and the Brownies for more time next time. I was a little gutted that I didn’t cook it long enough so the centre was all goo. I cooked them to the minimum recommended cooking time, so I know for next time to cook them to the maximum recommended cooking time. I know Brownies are meant to be gooey and fudgy, but these were definitely too liquidy! I managed to salvage the edges though and they taste amazing! The flavour of the Brownies were spot on! The Blondies reminded me of a less sweet version of my giant peanut butter & white chocolate cookie I made for Leigh one time.

Giant peanut butter & white chocolate cookie

Giant peanut butter & white chocolate cookie

I wasn’t sure whether to share these recipes, as they didn’t turn out perfect for me. However, I think they’re decent enough recipes – I know what I need to do next time (adjust cooking times). And people have been requesting them after seeing the pics. So here you go!

Blondies

Ingredients:

125g (4 1/2 oz) plain flour

1tsp baking powder

100g butter, softened

150g crunchy peanut butter

175g soft light brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

75g (3oz) white chocolate, chopped

Method:

1. preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F).

Grease and line a 20 x 20cm cake tin.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter together until very soft.

Add the sugar, egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Add the flour, baking powder and the chopped chocolate and mix to form a dough.

4. Place the dough in the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes

or until golden brown and almost firm in the centre.

5. Allow to cool in the tin, before removing and cutting into squares.

Brownies

Ingredients:

175g (6oz) good quality dark chocolate (70-80% cocoa solids)

175g (6oz) butter, cubed

25g (1oz) good quality cocoa powder, sifted

3 eggs

225g (8oz) caster or soft light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g (3 1/2 oz) plain flour

75g (3oz) nuts, skinned, toasted and chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Grease and line a 20 x 20cm cake tin.

2. Melt the chocolate, butter and cocoa powder together in a heat proof bowl

set over a saucepan of simmering water.

Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Remove from the heat.

3. In a separate bowl,whisk the eggs sugar and vanilla extract for 2 minutes.

Continuing to whisk, add the chocolate mixture until well combined.

Sift in the flour and fold through with the nuts with a spatula or metal spoon.

4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 19-25 minutes.

When cooked, it chould be dry on top but still slightly gooey and fudgy inside.

Don’t be tempted to leave it in the oven any longer than this or you will have cake and not brownies.

Allow to cool in the tin, then remove and cut into squares.