Chocolate and the art of seduction (or brownies)

01 Mar Chocolate and the art of seduction (or brownies)

Yes, it is time to talk food. A lot of people (well, three) have asked for the Sarif-Kattan brownie recipe. Here it is. If Amina had known brownies existed in The World Unseen, she would have dropped these in the cafe to get Miriam’s attention. If Tala had wanted to get Leyla back faster, she could’ve tried whipping these up instead of coming out to her parents in I Can’t Think Straight. I rest my case:

Chocolate Brownies

6 oz chocolate

6 oz butter

9 oz caster sugar

3 eggs

1teaspoon vanilla extract

3 oz flour

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water (the bowl shouldn’t be touching the water). Or you can use the shortcut that I inevitably use every time, and put the bowl in the microwave (low heat) for a few minutes.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is light and thick.

Add the vanilla extract to egg mixture. Try to use extract rather than essence – it costs a lot more, but there is a big difference in taste. Then pour in the warm chocolate and mix gently but thoroughly into the egg and sugar mixture.

Fold in the flour. If you like nuts in your brownies, this is the time to throw in a handful of pecans, walnuts or whatever you like best.

Preheat oven to 150 C (300 F) and butter a square tin, about 8 x 8 inches.

Bake brownies for about 25 minutes. The key is to cook it just enough so that the edges are shrinking slightly away from the sides but so that it is still quite soft to the touch or even slightly wobbly in the middle.

That will give the brownie the fudge centre rather than make it into a moist cake.

Let it cool, cut into squares and serve with a big scoop of ice cream!

Amina tempts Miriam with her brownie recipe...