The Basic Brownie

Almost everyone loves chocolate, but my husband and his best friend are obsessed with chocolate, so whenever his friend is visiting I always bake something like with a double (or triple in this case) of chocolate. Cause according to this duo, 'there is no such thing as too much chocolate'. And I tried, they really can take in just about any amount of chocolate!

I thought that this simple recipe would be a good one to start my blog. It doesn't have any fancy ingredients, just the basics which are almost always in the pantry :)  and can be dressed up for any occasion, or not dressed up, just slice and serve. Also, I have been requested to share this recipe on multiple occasions, so here it goes!

I use both chocolate chips and chopped walnuts, but if your aren't the biggest fan of chocolate, then go ahead and sub it with walnuts. Want to overdose on chocolate, sub the walnuts with chocolate chips :). The nutella frosting, can also be left out and you can serve the brownie plain or with some vanilla ice cream on the side. My secret to getting the texture of the brownie just right (not to soft and fudge like, result of using a 8 x 8 square pan nor to hard and crispy, resulted from using a 9 x 13 rectangular pan) is using this pan. When I was on the hunt for the perfect pan, I couldn't find it in stores, ANYWHERE. Then Amazon saved the day! Also, lining the pan with foil helps with better and more even baking. But if your a fan of the crusty edges, o ahead and line the pan with wax paper instead.

I use a Kitchen Aid for all my baking, but any electric hand mixer will do the trick (I have not tried it in a food processor, if anyone does, please let me know how it goes). Enough chitchat, lets get to the point.

The Basic Brownie

Ingredients
BROWNIE 
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (i love using the trader joes brand)
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup sugar (either white or brown is fine)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped chocolate chips

NUTELLA FROSTING

1 cup nutella
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar

EXTRA TOOLS
Sprinkles, for decorating
Icing bag
Wilton 1M tip
Circle cookie cutter

Foil

Method
Brownie
1. Preheat oven to 350*F and line baking pan with foil.
3. Sift all dry ingredients, except sugar. Set aside
2. Beat eggs and sugar, until pale in color.
3. Reduce speed and pour in melted butter. Increase speed and mix until incorporated.
4. Reduce speed of mixer and add in sifted dry ingredients, once the batter is mixed evenly, add vanilla essence and beat on high for 1-2 mins.
4. Pour into ready pan and bake for about 20-25 mins, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting
1. Beat cream cheese, carefully scraping the edges and bottom of the bowl to ensure there are no lumps left.
2. Once the cream cheese is smooth, sift in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Make sure to beat and incorporate completely before adding a new batch. Also remember to scrap the bowl before and after every addition.
3. Lastly, add the nutella, beat until everything is mixed together into a creamy frosting.

Decorating
1. Once the brownie has cooled, cut out 6-8 circles, depending on the size of your cookie cutter.
2. Set icing bag with decorating tip, then fill with frosting.
3. Frost all the pieces and decorate with sprinkle of choice.

Enjoy!

Farhana