My Deep Dark Desire

Lately, I've had plenty of cravings. One moment I would be hankering for hot chocolate, and the next minute, I feel like eating custard buns.

Yesterday, I had a really strong craving, not wait, I wouldn't classify it as a craving. It was more like a desire. A deep, dark desire. A desire so strong I couldn't ignore. So I didn't ignore it.

I made sure I satisfied it.

By baking. Yes, I know, I haven't been baking since I got so busy with school. But hey hey, the holidays are nearing. They're just around the corner actually. I'm really looking forward to it because I really miss the smells and the excitement of baking.

So anyway, what the hell did I bake? Easy ain't it? It's so easy that I don't know why I even bothered asking in the first place. Haha. My dear readers, you know me so well so you shall try answering it. Just remember it is:


DEEP,
.
..
...
....

DARK &
.
..
...
....

DESIRABLE!
.
..
...
....


Okay I can sense your mild irritation. Pardon me, I just feel restless! Here's a clue, it really has got to do with the first photo up there. Man, don't you just wish you could lick the screen and taste it? I know I do.

Guessed it?

Give up?

Whatever it is, I can't keep it a secret for long:




BROWNIES!

Gosh you should have seen my face yesterday when I was baking them brownies. No wait, it first started when I got some Barry-Callebaut Carma 47% chocolate couverture from a friend:



My eyes widened with the possibilities.

The possibilities of what wondrous things that can come out of this 2kg block of 'gold'. It was like a giant chocolate block. I imagined myself as an oompas-loompas, grinning from ear to ear, almost breaking in song (but heh I don't think i sing too well)!



Naturally, I thought I'd make some brownies since it's been ages since I baked some. Besides, I had a deep dark desire for some homemade ones. Warm, fresh from the oven brownies - nothing beats that.

I went to search for a kickass brownie recipe that would do the Swiss chocolate justice and I found a yummy-sounding brownie recipe in Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookie Magazine. Double Chocolate Brownie it said. Sounds good to me! So I got down to preparing my chocolate, melting it with butter and unsweetened cocoa powder:



Don't you just love the gloss? It makes me wanna squeal out loud and lick the entire bowl.

Anyway I added more chocolate than required so do bear in mind that you could do that as well... just make sure you balance out the other ingredients. The adapted recipe is below, in case you happen to have a similar deep dark desire :)

Here's the brownie batter in the pan waiting to be turned into dark luscious brownies:




Here's how it looks after baking:



I love the crackling. It looks like earth. Like soil that's dried out. Brownies look handsome with crackles :p

Ahhh..... I tell you, nothing beats the smell of freshly baked brownies. The house was filled with a chocolatey aroma that simply made my day. I missed it so much!

After cutting it into squares, I couldn't resist popping one into my mouth. The verdict?

It was dark all right, and deep. You're probably wondering how a brownie can be deep? When I say deep, I mean depth - how the bitterness measures out with the sweetness. I dig dark chocolate and I don't like something that's too sweet so I appreciate a deep brownie. Or rather, I try to get a brownie to be as deep as I like.

Mum loved it and Sis thought it was the best brownie I've made:



I can see why she said that. These brownies have a more dense cakey texture. It's not exactly fudgey (I don't really like those kinds.... well it depends!) but it's not too dry either. One can taste the rich taste of the chocolate and the sugar doesn't overpower it.

This is how brownies should be. No, I should say this is how I like my brownies :)

I was a very happy person yesterday. So happy that I bought Mocha Almond Chip ice cream to eat my brownies with....



Brownies. What would I do without them?

These pretty dark things made my day and I think I'm slowly slipping back into Ms. Baker mode! Hurray! Now will the holidays please hurry up - I have loads of recipes to conquer!

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Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Brownie recipe

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter
7 and a half ounces (200 grams) good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed firm)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degree celcius. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper.

2. Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until completely melted. Let cool slightly.

3. Mix your flour, baking powder, and salt well and aside.

4. Using an electric mixer (or a handwhisk if you prefer), mix sugar, egg, and vanilla well until pale, about 4 mintues. Add chocolate mixture; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until well combined.

5. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer, when inserted in the brownie, comes out clean.

6. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes then lift out to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

SHF #27 - Chocolate By Brand

Good chocolate is expensive. Or not?

I do think that the best chocolate might not necessarily be the priciest one. Many people might beg to differ but I stand by my statement. You see, sometimes we're so blinded by brand that we fail to recognise the underdogs.

Perhaps it's just my inclination to always support the underdog brands or my innate allergic reaction to conformity. When I try something, I don't judge it based on the brand - I'm fair.

That doesn't mean I don't like well-known brands such as Valrhona, Lindt or Green & Black's. Their chocolate rocks but I do fancy experimenting with other lesser-known brands. Seriously, I conclude that one can find good chocolate in the most unlikely places.

And I'm going to talk about it in this post since the theme for Sugar High Friday #27 is Chocolate by Brand. Hosted by David 'The Chocolate Guy' Lebovitz, I was really excited when I found out about the theme. Thanks David!

The chocolate in question is Carrefour's Dessert Chocolate. I know I know, the packaging looks simple and unassuming. But wait till you unwrap it:



Something mysterious lies within and it's 52% dark.



I suppose it's just me and my love affair with the dark. Dark chocolate soothes me, it heightens my senses and man, it's too good to be replaced with anything else. There's nothing like a good bar of dark chocolate.

Alot of times, when I bake cookies that call for chocolate chips, I immediately replace them with chocolate chunks. I always have a few bars of Carrefour Dessert Chocolate in my refridgerator because I always have the urge to bake these chocolate chunk cookies whenever I have the time. I've used Carrefour's chocolate to make fondue and truffles. They always turn out great and I've stuck to the Carrefour brand ever since.

I don't remember when I started using Carrefour's Dessert Chocolate. I think it was 3 years ago when I started to bake avidly. That was about the time Carrefour came to Singapore. There are currently two outlets here. I love Carrefour because of the French and international products the carry. Alot of times, they have stuff that I find hard to find at NTUC.

Usually people scoff at homebrands but truly, Carrefour's chocolates are a force to be reckoned with. Call me biased if you wish, but I am a firm believer of quality and am not blinded by brands. Yes, it might be cheaper than branded chocolates (SGD$4.90 for two 200g bars) but it suits me fine. I think it gives my cookies that extra omph.



That's how big I chop them chocolates. I don't believe in scrimping when you bake chocolate chunk cookies. The more chocolate the merrier! Chocolate chips just doesn't do it for me. I think they are toooo tiny!

My cookie dough loves its marriage to Carrefour's Dessert Chocolate....



In order to get mighty fine chocolate cookies, you need good chocolate and I have found that in Carrefour.

Oh what would I do without their chocolates?

Perhaps then, I wouldn't have the yummiest chocolate chunk cookies.



What's so thrilling about these cookies? Those who have tried them will know what I'm about to describe. These cookies contain the chocolate chunks well and one bite brings you closer to chocolate heaven. What's more, they're easy to make! I won't deny that it's not the most perfect cookie but right now, I've been baking them so often that it becomes second nature. My friends eyes widen with excitement when I bring them some and I find joy in seeing others enjoy these delights. I've sold these cookies in previous bake sales as well. People seem to love them, so I hope you will try them out and put a smile on someone else's face :)

With good chocolate, you find infinite possibilities.

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Chocolate Chunk Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
200g bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks


Directions:

Set your oven temperature to 180 degree celcius.

Cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

Mix the rest of the dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Drop cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

A very chocolatey gift

Christmas ended a week ago but that doesn't mean the Christmas spirit has faded into oblivion. Well at least for me it hasn't because I felt so loved when I received my gift pack from Nadnut yesterday.

Remember the Christmas Flog Exchange post on my blog last December? Organised by Sam of The Hinata Diaries and June of Nibble Scribble, this local flog (a colloqial term for food blog, you know, combine food and blog and you get flog!) event attacted about 15 locals, most of whom own food blogs of their own.

This event is similar to your usual Christmas gift exchange except that you actually exchange wishes beforehand and try your best to match that request and possibly add in some of your own creativity.

Most of the wishes were rather original, with some requesting for something homebaked. I think it's kinda sweet you know, to taste something you know is unique of the individual, baked with love, and is almost priceless since you definitely can't find it sold out there at some commercial enterprise.

Anyway, my wish was for your favourite dark chocolate. I love dark chocolate and I simply wanted to try the dark chocolate that the person who granted my wish liked. Nadnut was the one who granted my wish and I must say she was really sweet to give me that gift pack you see above. I am seriously spoilt for choice. She gave me 6 different types of dark chocolate. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. There were so many different dark chocolate to choose from. It would take me quite a while to slowly finish them all. I intend to savour each one bit by bit.

The one I'm most excited about is the Meiji 99% dark chocolate because I've been wanting to get it. If I'm not wrong, I think I might have tried Lindt's 99% or 95% dark chocolate once. I can't remember clearly but it sure was an interesting experience. When I was much younger, I preferred sweeter chocolates, it was only when I was growing up then I got to like dark chocolate a whole lot more. Or it could also be probably because dark chocolate is easily available now than it was before? I don't know... but I sure see many more brands of noir chocolat in recent years.





This other one by Meiji sure looks interesting. Can't wait to try it. The Japanese have the cutest packaging I tell ya! Sometimes it entices you to buy the product even though you know you might not even want it in the first place.




And here's something that got me all excited too:



Classic Dark Tim Tam! I fell in love with Tim Tam a few years ago when I was doing a print journalism internship in Brisbane. I must have eaten a record number of Tim Tams when I was there. Oh Oh, I also mastered the Tim Tam Slam! It's awesome I tell you. First you bite the corners on both ends - just one each, do it diagonally. Then you take a hot drink (I recommend coffee, hot chocolate or Milo) and use the Tim Tam as if it's a straw - dip it slightly in the drink and suck hard so that the liquid melts the center and you are able to drink up the smooth dark chocolately fudgey delight + soft yummy chocolate biscuit. It's amazing I tell ya. Truly phenomenal. You won't realise it until you actually do the deed. It might not sound much but it's really an experience!

Nadnut also included Droste 75% pastilles (also another of my favourite!) and another Duc d'O 76% dark chocolate. I certainly look forward to having a good time munching on the many chocolatey delights! Thanks girl, it is really a great gift and boy am I a happy girl right now!