Walnut Brownies

Ingredients:

• Eagerness
• Motivation
• 1 cup or 4 oz of finely chopped chocolate (80%+ dark)
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• A pinch of salt to bring out the chocolate flavour
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (for fudge) or 1/2 cup caster sugar (for crackled tops)
• 3 eggs
• Muscle power or an electric whisk
• 1 tbsp of vanilla essence
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• Chopped walnuts / salt-roasted pecans to your liking
• Extreme patience

Instructions:

Step 1:

Spend some money. (No surprise!) Get some good quality dark chocolate (preferable 80% cocoa or more). Refrain from eating it rightaway. Store it, and wait a couple of days before you finally gather motivation to bake.

Step 2:

The fudge totally depends on the chocolate you put in. So get around a cup or 4 oz., chop it up well. The guilt creeps in pretty fast, but don’t be a miser when using the butter. Take out one stick, and choose either of the two options:
– Slowly stir the two over medium-low heat till both melt, and your kitchen is aromatic again.
– Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave.

Step 3:

Add the sugar. Depending on what texture you want your brownie to be, add a mix of caster sugar and brown sugar, or purely caster sugar. I haven’t tried it myself (since being brown comes with its biases), but if you want perfectly crackled tops, going with solely caster sugar might be a better option. If you want more fudgy and dense brownies, I would advise whisking in the brown sugar as well. The measurements I usually follow are: 1 cup of caster sugar for every 3/4 or 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Now, whisk those calories right in!

Step 4:

Time for eggs (sorry, herbivores). Whisk in 3 eggs, one at a time, making sure you don’t drop in the egg shells in the batter, or the eggs on the cemented floor. It’s a mess, I tell you!

Step 5:

Pour in 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and then show off your muscles while you whisk the batter for a straight 10 minutes using the hand whisk. Aerate it well, and you may even find some bubbles popping up (worry not, it’s a good omen). If you’re a more sophisticated baker going with an electric whisk, enjoy the show for 5-6 minutes while the batter gets scattered all over.

Step 6:

Enough of getting wet! Time to dry it out with some flour and cocoa powder. I usually use 1 cup of flour with 1/2 cup cocoa powder and fold them into the batter using a spatula. A wonderful baker once suggested me to not whisk, but fold in the dry ingredients.

Step 7:

If you like the taste of nuts, chop up some walnuts and mix them into the batter. You can also add a pinch of salt, since it brings out the chocolaty flavour further. I have also seen people adding salt-roasted pecan halves, but being true to the name of the article, I strongly suggest walnuts.

Step 8:

Next on, grease a 8 inch square pan, line it up with a parchment paper if you so wish, and pour in the batter. Make sure it’s uniformly spread if you’re planning a photoshoot later. Bake at 350F or 180C for 20-25 minutes till the top starts to lose its shine and small cracks start appearing. If you’re the toothpick person, then remember that it will not come out completely clean (hey, you wanted fudgy brownies!), so don’t overbake.

Step 9:

Making brownies is all about patience. Not only do you have to work hard to prepare the batter and bake it, but also let it cool for at least an hour before you can take it out, slice it, heat it again, take out a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and finally get to enjoy it!