The Honey-Almond Brownie

In case any of you are looking for summer, its in California. With temperatures in the 80s and not a cloud in sight, I just had an amazing weekend catching up with a friends (who have the most amazing view from their apartment, and treated us to a great chocolate cake (it was so good, I forgot to take a picture :(, but I took one of the view!) and family, as well as enjoying some awesome views. Also, managed to start off the hiking season at the same time! On a side note, if you are looking for a movie to watch, put THE CROODS on the list, its HILARIOUS!

Well all nothing lasts forever, so I'm back in Seattle all sun burnt and sleep deprived, but was welcomed back with a great day and awesome views of all its mountain peaks. Back to reality means I just caught up on all my emails and thought that I would leave you with a new recipe before I move into a cave till midterms are over.

As you might have figured out by now, I look for any excuse to bake. This time I needed something that could be packed well to survive the flight. It also had to be chocolate, cause you can't visit a chocolate lover with anything but chocolate. So the grown ups got some honey-almond brownies and the kids got chocolate chip cookies (recipe to come soon!). This brownies a bit softer than your average brownie, also not as dense in chocolate, but the almonds had a crunch that just bring it all together. Some tend to find it on the sweeter side, that might be the case because of the honey. Just like my last brownie recipe this works perfectly in this pan.

Once the brownie has completely cooled, wrap it up in foil, put it in a large ziplock bag and it is ready to travel. Stays well up to 2 weeks if stored in the fridge. For those of you who don't like your brownie cold, not problem! Just heat it up for a few secs in the microwave, depending on the size of your piece and your good to go! And if you want to serve it up immediately, then go ahead, slice it up and dust with a bit of powdered sugar.

This recipe is simple, just has an extra step of beating an egg white and folding it in to the batter. Here's my short cut tip, beat the egg first and set it aside in a bowl, and continue using the mixer without washing it, the little bit of egg white left on the bowl and whisks don't make any difference. Before I forget, thanks Annaya, a friend, who is also the little sister I never had for sharing this recipe and making it for me for years.

The Honey-Almond Brownie

Ingredients

2 oz (60g) unsweetened chocolate
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup silvered almonds (if your a huge fan you can increase it up to 1 cup)
1 egg white

Yield: 12-16 pieces

Method
1. Preheat over to 350*F. Wrap a brownie pan in foil.
2. Beat the egg white until stiff, set aside.
3. Place chocolate in a microwave safe dish, melt in the microwave stirring every 30 secs (the first time can be as high as a minute)
4. Beat together butter and sugar until mixture looks pale yellow, add in honey and continue mixing. Pour in melted chocolate and continue to beat.
5. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat well once last time.
6. Scrap the sides of the bowl, then fold in the sifted flour. Once mixed in well, fold in egg white and continue to fold into batter.
7. Add in almonds and give a quick mix. Over mixing will cause the air in the batter to reduce and it will not bake as fluffy.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 mins, depending on your oven or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool on a cooling rack, then slice and serve with milk, or pack up and take it with :)

Enjoy!

Farhana