Best Thing Ever: Chocolate Brownies

As you may well know (and have been bored to a near-traumatic death on several occasions), the hungry-as-ever teenager that I am has always had somewhat of a love affair with chocolate, instantly receiving a pick-me-up from a single, finger-licking mouthful. To many, it may strike one as extremely strange to go all gooey-eyed over a square of food which, in all honesty, isn't particularly friendly towards your waistline - and is often cited as a reason for which half of the population have become victims of yo-yo dieting - but it purely displays my appreciation for the delicacy, which I limit as a twice weekly treat.

Since donning my first pair of baking gloves around a year ago, I've had the joy of following recipes which not only make me drawl like Homer Simpson setting foot into a Krispey Creme store, but excite the rest of my family, who inevitably help themselves to whatever I make. From my failproof gingersnaps (in our household, the more spice, the better the flavour) to old-fashioned cherry cake, I've tried my grease-covered hand at a wide range of recipes which have thankfully been deemed as a success most of the time, yet I almost always find it irresistible to include my favourite cocoa-tastic ingredient if such a spectacular occasion arises - after all, don't we humans experience nothing quite as joyful as indulge on our sweet tooth?

After enduring a more exhausted-than-expected week piled high with packing cardboard boxes, travelling over 150 miles to view my family's soon-to-be-ours house and getting my head around my upcoming return to mainstream education (for the record, I'm still wandering in a shock-induced daze), baking something thousands of miles away from my current palette of issues struck me as a type of therapy, except that a bowl of butter doesn't really count as a medical remedy. Like miming the lyrics to Rolling in the Deep on my laptop on a late Saturday night, I have long included baking as a form of relaxation which enables me to be freed of life's daily hassles for a few heavenly sweet (if you bear the amount of sugar used in mind) hours, whilst doing something more productive and skillful than being glued to The Vampire Diaries for one evening.

And as I rifled through the ever-emptying cupboards earlier this morning, my brain - which, correct me if I'm wrong, was still fast asleep in snooze-mode, unwillingly to awaken to yet another warm Spring day - immediately came to life, recreating the electricity-draining resurrection scene from one of the many Frankenstein films which I could never be bothered watching. Thanks to splurging on a one-time-only offer in the chocolate aisle at the supermarket several months ago, I still had quite a couple of Ivory Coast dark chocolate left and had been struggling to think of ways to use it up before I move late next week - despite being a proud member of the chocoholics club, even my cocoa-obsessed self would quickly grow sick of tucking into my favourite treat night after night!

So, my mind switched into action-mode and a lighter-than-usual recipe for chocolate chip brownies rushed to the surface, captivating my attention like the singing cat advert currently being aired on TV (believe me, the UK shows the craziest advertisement campaigns in the world!). Beloved in their native America, brownies are somewhat a hybrid of a cake (for its spongy, cake-like texture) and a biscuit (whoever thought of this one, I just can't understand it - fudge-inspired brownies are not crunchy in the slightest!) and have become a true baking statement across the world, inspiring a legion of variations which cater to every taste. From milky white chocolate-flavoured blondies (without any association with the legendary 70s' rock singer) to tangy cheesecake-frosted brownies, it can be pretty overwhelming with the varieties of brownies which are popular amongst various audiences - yet, as I often feel about food, the simplest flavours have a tendency to be the best, and I'm unashamedly in love with chocolate chip brownies as the cocoa is all that my hunger craves!

Although a lot of bakers tend to lean towards following recipes given by a particular chef or celebrity cook, I don't particularly limit myself to just one person because, like many, I'm always on the lookout for more creativity and indeed variety! Saying that, my mum has been a keen follower of British celebrity cook Delia Smith for as long as I can remember and she has collected if not all of Delia's books over the years (Cookery Course is where I gained the idea for baking gingersnaps/gingernuts), and Mary Berry has recently claimed the much-coveted title of a baking icon thanks to her appearance as a judge on The Great British Bake-Off, making delicate butterfly cakes and old-fashioned biscuits suited to today's modernized style of baking. But I personally make an effort to steer clear of recipes which feature a vast amount of butter and sugar, an ingredient of which many studies have linked to obesity of late, as I don't want to wake up with a pang of guilt ruining my enjoyment of a rarely consumed treat - one can only become familiar with indulgence without taking it too far, right?

Despite swapping my original brownie recipe for smaller amounts of butter, sugar and sadly chocolate (that practise automatically waved goodbye to my hopes of snacking on squares of dark chocolate for the afternoon) several months ago, the results - if anybody bothers to notice - are exactly the same, if not tastier! Even when it comes to giving into temptation from time to time, I take nutritional values to heart because they needn't be forgotten at all times - and what is the problem if the flavour hasn't been sacrificed at all?

Even to this day, I don't quite know why I go weak at the knees at the slightest mention of brownies - sometimes, one may think I look like a bowl of wobbly jelly - but it represents yet another side of home-baking which reminds me of love, effort and a seriously good cooking skill. From chocolate chip cookies to even a brownie cake (perhaps I'll have a hint of two brownie cakes within a week), the chocolate-related fun seems endless, and that's how I always want baking to be!

As taken from Rachel Allen's brilliant cookbook, Cake, down below is the recipe which I've used on several occasions, resulting in a fudgey and oh-so-moreish texture. Don't blame me if you can't bring yourself to stop!

Ingredients
100g butter, sliced into cubes (in order for it to melt quicker)
125g caster sugar
100g plain (dark) chocolate (personally, I prefer a bar containing 70% cocoa solids; it neither sacrifices on the rich flavour or a hint of sweetness)
100g dark chocolate chips (though a bar of chopped-up dark chocolate is also fine)
75g self-raising flour
1tbsp (tablespoon) of cocoa powder (Bourneville powder works well)
a pinch of salt
3 eggs, beaten

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180c and grease a 20cm square tin with 5cm sides (a napkin coated in a Flora vegetable spread is just as good as butter).
2. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl with the butter over a pan of simmering water, melting the ingredients gently until the chocolate looks glossy and lump-free.
3. Take the bowl off the pan and leave to cool for a few seconds before stirring in the sugar and pinch of salt.
4. Add the beaten eggs and stir vigorously, then sift the self-raising flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and mix, eventually stirring in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour the mixture into the tin with a spatula (this enables the excuse to lick it clean later!) and even the sides in order to keep it level.
6. Place into the oven carefully - a trip to A&E with burnt fingers is not a wise idea - and bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
7. Take the tin out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin. As soon as those chocolate-fuelled hunger pangs become too much to bear, loosen the edges of the tin and place the brownie on a sheet of greaseproof paper (you really don't want to be told off for messiness by your mum!).
8. Cut into either 16 and 32 squares, depending on how many brownies you crave.
9. And what else do you expect me to say? ENJOY!