Satisfy Your Cravings 101

i was food blog surfing as opposed to my usual routine of design blog surfing last night and naturally that produced multiple food cravings! so dangerous i tell you! kumquat cupcakery, mari's brownies and a host of other deliciousites gave me the extra motivation to wake up early to bake my favourite kind of brownies. there are 2 known types - the cakey or the fudgy, personally i prefer the latter. i opted to follow smitten kitchen's recommended classic brownie recipe and the result was extremely satisfying ;)

The Recipe + Instructions:

Be sure to test for doneness before removing the brownies from the oven. If underbaked (the toothpick has batter clinging to it) the texture of the brownies will be dense and gummy. If overbaked (the toothpick comes out completely clean), the brownies will be dry and cakey.

1 cup (4 ounces) pecans or walnuts, chopped medium (optional)
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into six 1-inch pieces
2 1/4 cups (15 3/4 ounces) sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width.

If using nuts, spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. (Alternatively, in microwave, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again, and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second increments; do not let chocolate burn.) I did this!!! When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs on at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth and homogeneous.

Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes.

My Notes:
i used coarse sugar because my dad bought the wrong type of sugar. It did turn out fine though. i recommend reducing sugar to 2 cups; it's really sweet. however this all depends on personal preference. texture wise - this recipe rocks! it's fudgy and gooey and just heavenly when eaten hot ;) oh and because i was too lazy to split the batter into 2 tins, mine came about slightly thicker. due to this my baking time was stretched to 45mins or so. as mentioned, you should test for doneness once the 30 min mark passes and stop baking till your preferred texture is achieved.