December 13, 2012

Baking | Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies … one bowl, whole grain, and delicious

“May your life be filled, as mine has been, with love and laughter; and remember, when things are rough all you need is … Chocolate.”
Geraldine Solon

Wholewheat Double Chocolate Brownies Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies … deep, dark, decadent, indulgent. These days I’m driven by a strange bug, the whole grain bug. Experimenting rules the roost, the more whole grain, the better! It’s a fight to the finish … HUNGRY TEENS, final exams and the need for food, or rather, the constant need for food!
The last few days of December slip through the fingers helplessly. I try to hang on to the year but obviously am fighting a losing battle. Time to march on the greener avenues, look forward to 2013 … and enjoy the remainder of 2012!

The junior teen and his friends discuss the Mayan end of the year on December 21, 2012. I look at him disdainfully! For heavens sake … what must be, must be! Who are we to figure out when the world will end? There must be better things to think about. Chocolate is one of them! Chocolate just makes everything better!

Plenty better stuff to think about – More whole grains everyday. Making food yummy. Experimenting. Butter is good! I make it at home too, sweet white butter from scratch!
I made 2 batches of thees whole wheat brownies for the ‘German Mela‘ last week, a fundraiser to help my sweet friend Mukta. I made some Christmas sugar cookies too. Then I made yet another batch of these brownies yesterday for the hungry kids … they’re almost gone {the brownies I mean …LOL} . Did I tell you the wholewheat dark chocolate brownies are good, really good?

Recipe: Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

Summary: Decadent wholewheat dark chocolate brownies just right for the season of indulgence. Wholewheat makes these less ‘guilt-ridden’, and some olive oil instead of butter convinces you to reach for more. Add some walnuts if you like!

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:

65g unsalted butter, room temperature
35g light olive oil
100g dark chocolate
100g raw sugar
3 small eggs {or 2 large}
1tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
75g wholewheat flour {aata}
50g dark chocolate chips { and / or chopped nuts}

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a square 8 X 8″ baking tin with parchment paper.
Place the butter, oil and chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute {or simmer over a double boiler}. Whisk well until the chocolate has blended with the butter and oil.
Add the sugar and whisk well.
Add the eggs and whisk again, followed by the vanilla extract, then baking powder and salt.
Now whisk in the wholewheat flour, and fold in the dark chocolate chips and /or nuts if using.
Turn batter into prepared tin and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Cool in tin, then remove gently and cut into squares.

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

October 2, 2012

Baking | One bowl cocoa wholewheat almond brownies … Alice Medrich {#urbandazzle}

“I am endlessly inspired and challenged by ingredients and flavors; the craft involved both in bringing them together and writing about the process.”
Alice Medrich

Cocoa Wholewheat Almond Brownies are a sweet opening to October, plated on the new Diwali/festival gift collection from Urban Dazzle. Baked out of desperation since I had no good quality baking chocolate on hand, the wholewheat brownies were ~~good~~ unbelievably good!! They are adapted from a recipe by Alice Medrich – author, dessert chef, chocolatier.Alice Medrich is an iconic baker who changed the way we looked at food, desserts, chocolate and baking of course. She’s written a series of cookbooks, the latest one Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. Of the 9, Bittersweet and Pure Dessert are two of my favourites. Food weaves a magical pattern. I baked an adaptation of her Orange & Olive Oil Cake in 2008. Some time later I made delicious Dark Chocolate, Walnut & Craisin Scones from a recipe @ David Lebovitz , another hugely talented cookbook author, dessert maker, ice cream man, story teller. Turned out that recipe was an Alice inspired one too.In late 2008, me, a very timid and shaky food blogger in far off North India, virtually met Alice via the Daring Bakers Caramel Cake with Caramelised Butter Frosting. Her Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels was an optional part of the challenge. Those caramels didn’t happen as we were just back from a trip to Sydney where the daughter fell ill with jaundice, was hospitalised …. and what not! Yet, it was another intriguing window into the creative world of Alice Medrich.Did I just forget to mention the Pebbly Beach Fruit Square cookies pictured above? Adapted from her cookbook “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy: Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Cookies”, these are typical Alice style. Classic, comforting and high on taste. The fruit squares recipe is highly adaptable.

Buono Decoration Plate Silver

So when I craved baking brownies and googled for a cocoa version, one of the first matches was a Medrich recipe. There was no looking further. I experimented with substitutions mainly because of the high-ish butter content. Using just whole wheat flour and almond meal instead of plain flour, they turned out to be brownie heaven – deep, dark, chewy, moist! Importantly, one bowl cocoa wholewheat almond brownies; hand whisked and with minimal clean up! The bell rang while the brownies were cooling off, and it was the new festive Diwali range of products from Urban Dazzle. Seemed like an early Christmas as I got a staggering array of their recently launched festive ware which includes stunning stoneware, ceramics, porcelain and much more.Stoneware is right up my street and the colours and texture hold instant appeal, the quality excellent too! The soothing blue stoneware platter above with a Mediterranean appeal; and cups, mugs, soup bowls all in pretty colours, stuff you can mix and match. The good thing is the almost inexhaustive choice. You feel like grabbing it all. And that’s the good part! If you love it, others will to.Urban Dazzle is quite a dynamic online option. An e-venture based in New Delhi, they are constantly adding aesthetic, stylish and reasonable kitchen accessories and home decor items. With Diwali around the corner, they promise to take some burden of gifting off your shoulders… though the extensive range promises to overwhelm you with what to choose & what not!You might like these stunning glasses, or a banquet footed platter, chic Borgonovo bottles, pot bellied jugs and carafes … the variety is endless!A while ago someone inquired about these white ribbed fruit plates that I recently used for the Empanada Gallegas. I got mine all the way from Sydney two years ago. Imagine my surprise when I saw them on Urban Dazzle a few days ago! Raise a toast, browse the topsellers, … or then just hit the ‘Sweet Spot’!

Recipe: One bowl Cocoa Wholewheat Almond Brownies

Summary: Single bowl cocoa brownies. Dark, deep, chewy, moist, chocolaty … and made with whole grain. Makes 16-20 squares. Recipe adapted from Alice Medrich.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

140g unsalted butter, room temperature
80g cocoa powder {3/4cup}
110g raw sugar {1 cup}
2 eggs
30g wholewheat flour {1/4 cup}
25g almond meal {1/4 cup}
1tsp baking powder
pinch salt
100g dark chocolate chips

Method:

In a large heat proof bowl, melt the butter, cocoa and sugar in a microwave for 1 minute. Whisk well until smooth.
Whisk in the eggs firmly one by one.
Whisk in the flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt and then whisk briskly for about 1 minute until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy.
Fold in the chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared tin
Bake at 180C for about 25 minutes.
Cool for about 20-30 minutes before slicing {if you like them warm}, else cool, chill and then slice.

Don’t miss a post
Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

September 16, 2011

Baking| Double Chocolate Mousse Cookies … #baketogether ‘September is for cookies’!

“If cookies be the food of love…munch on”
Dame Judi Dench

“Can you make some cookies tomorrow?” asked Mr PAB one evening. He often has long working hours, and travels more than before now, so likes to carry a ‘taste of home‘ with him. Was going to bake him some Wholewheat Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies or maybe sugar cookies. Then I saw that Abby Dodge had posted the August #baketogether round up for the Summer Fruit Cake with the September challenge – cookies. Double Chocolate Mousse Cookies it was destined to be!

Abby said, “I’ve tweeted, I’ve listened and I’ve decided it must be COOKIES!

Everyone loves cookies, right? I’ve brought along my little blue friend if you need convincing…you know I’ve got his vote, right? I offer up September’s #BakeTogether recipe! One bite of this cookie and filling is all you’ll need to help you assuage the burden of #Irene.. or whatever else ails you.”

How true her words were. One bite ensured cookie happiness, though for the first time in years I struggled with the consistency of the dough. This was not ‘cookie dough‘ as I normally make; this was a thick mousse-y dough. I reread and checked the recipe several times. Didn’t look like I had missed a step but I had this thick lava like dough. It gave me jitters, the sort you get while waiting for feet in macarons!I figured I would get pancakes with the dough so added another 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour. The dough was better, still not firm enough, but with the name Double Chocolate Mousse Cookies, I figured this is how it was probably meant to be.

I did a small test bake with 3 bits and much to my relief they held their shape well! Hope you enjoy my take on Abby’s Double Chocolate Mousse Cookies. I substituted some plain flour with whole wheat flour to make them a bit healthier. The first round of cookies were cakey, softish, chewy, very very chocolaty … and a big hit at home!We enjoyed them sans filling but they were a tad soft to accompany Mr PAB on his journey, so I made some dough for the Wholewheat Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies. Then an idea struck me, and I popped a teeny ball of the wholewheat oat chocolate chip cookie dough in the center of some the mousse-y cookies and baked them again for 8-10 minutes. I double baked a few sans filling and later filled them with the bittersweet chocolate filling as below. Perfect! The second time around they weren’t softish thanks to the double bake and looked pretty too. A few double baked ones were lavished with the bittersweet chocolate filling. Double yum!! Those were equally delicious too, if not more, and devoured by cookie monsters that infest our home! One hopeful cookie monster was left looking on … “crumbless‘!! Poor little Coco … she’s my little shadow who lives in eternal hope of a cookie or two!

Just got a mail from Foodie Blogroll to say … Congratulations deeba!
You have been featured in this week’s Featured Blogs!

Featured Blogs is a weekly Friday post on the FoodieBlogroll site featuring favorites from The Foodie Blogroll! We do this so we can share in the rich diversity of what The Foodie Blogroll has to offer by featuring some of our favorites.

Recipe: Double Chocolate Mousse Cookies

Summary: Minimally adapted from Abby Dodges #Irene Double Chocolate Mousse Cookie for #baketogether. They are cakey, softish, chewy, very chocolatey … and a big hit at home! Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:

For the chocolate cookies
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
85g bittersweet chocolate, melted
For the bittersweet chocolate filling
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

Method:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 180C. Line 2 or more cookie sheets with parchment or non-stick baking liners.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, wholewheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk until well blended.
In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar and cocoa powder and beat on medium speed until well blended, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and the beater. Add the eggs, one at a time mixing until blended after each addition. Add the vanilla along with the last egg. Continue mixing on medium until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and mix until just blended, about 30 seconds. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the mixture is well blended, about 1 minute.
Using a 2 tablespoon mini ice-cream scoop, shape the dough into balls and arrange about 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are puffed and tops are cracked and look dry, about 11 to 13 minutes. {I baked them a second time for about 7-8 minutes as my cookies were still soft}
When the cookies are just out from the oven, make a small, deep well in the center of the cookies using the rounded side of a 1/2 teaspoon measure or the end of a thick handled wooden spoon. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Fill the cookies and serve immediately or cover and keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month before filling and serving.
Make the filling and assemble the cookies:
Melt the chocolate and the butter in the microwave or in a medium melt bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside until cool and slightly thickened.
Scrap the chocolate mixture into a small zip-top heavy duty plastic bag (alternately, use a pastry bag fit with a small plain tip). Snip off a small piece of one corner and pipe the chocolate mixture into the wells of the cooled cookies. Set aside until chocolate firms up, about 1 hour. Serve immediately or cover and keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Before I go I need to thank the very sweet Jehanna @ The Cooking Doctor for David Lebovitzs ‘The Perfect Scoop‘ that I won at her giveaway. It’s a book I have longed to own. There was also a ‘surprise’ package of coffee. As Jehanna says “Remember, your winning giveaway entry was coffee ice-cream, so to ‘commemorate’ that, I thought I’d include my most, most fav coffee so you can try it out for the ice-cream. I hope you like it, and cant wait for your ice-cream post“. This book is an ice cream Bible in every way, and paired with Davids style of writing and sense of humour, it keeps you hooked on to every word he writes. It’s virtually a ‘chilling’ entertainer’!Also thanks due to the good folk at ADF Soul Foods who sent me this HUGE gift hamper filled with delicious ready to eat Indian gourmet food. Even though we hardly ever eat prepackaged food at home, we’ve tried a few of them from ADF, and I have to say they are quite delicious. With no artificial preservatives and no trans fats, the ‘Just Heat & Eat‘ range, all natural and a 100% vegetarian, is ready to eat in two minutes.