Brownie Babe of the Month...

Chocolate Brownies. Possibly the most perfect of all the ways to indulge in Theobroma Cacao. The chocolate hit in a well made brownie is so strong it can feel like you’ve just downed three double espressos in less than 10 seconds flat.
And there’s the non-prep side of things. It takes no time at all to whip up a batch of brownies and even less time to devour them. The only difficult part is melting the chocolate...and how difficult is that?
Of course, there is a down side to such a simply wonderful cake. Brownies don’t really look like much other than brown, heavy, stodgy bits of brick. But think again! There lies within a simple, evil genius. People unfamiliar with the Brownie may overlook it once, but once bitten, never again shy.
Myriam at Once Upon a Tart has decided to tap into the part of us all that adores Brownies with a new event called Brownie Babe of the Month. This is one event I couldn't pass up on.
The characteristics of the brownie, whether it’s chocolate or otherwise (blondies also exist and are just as yummy) is that moist, almost undercooked middle that takes very little time to get used to. This is where I always have problems. 9 of my brownies out of 10 are nearly always under or over cooked. I adore that squidgy middle so much that I have strong reservations about leaving them in the oven for the stated time in the recipe. I decided to make Malteser Brownies and the recipe I used was adapted from the Green and Blacks Chocolate Cookbook, Celebration Brownies.
For the American readers among us, you will probably know Maltesers as Whoppers or Malted Milk Balls. As per the recipe, I removed them from the oven once the top had started to crack and it had that pale, sugary crust. I plunged a toothpick into the brownie and it came out slightly goopy but it seemed OK. I triumphantly removed the tin from the oven marvelling at the nobbly top caused by the Maltesers that had bobbed to the surface seeking escape from their chocolatey doom.
The lure of the brownies didn’t call until much later after we had eaten dinner and then, Southern Comfort munchies kicking in, everyone suddenly remembered that, yes, we had dessert waiting for human consumption. I raced to the kitchen and eagerly cut into them...only to find lots of chocolately ooze all over the knife. They were undercooked and not just Brownie undercooked but spilling out of the tin and onto the work surface overcooked. The resemblance to chocolate milk was startling.

Half an hour later we sat down to hot brownies which had to be impatiently scooped from the tin and shovelled into mouths. Of course, they were still delicious despite the initial disaster. The Maltesers had melted but were chewy and crunchy all at the same time.
I haven't published the recipe here but if you want to produce a rough approximation of it, simply use your favourite chocolate brownie recipe but, before you pour your chocolate mixture into the brownie pan, place a layer of Maltesers (or Malted Milk Balls) in the bottom of your pan first. What is great about this is if you don't like Maltesers you can use any miniature chocolate bars (for example Hersheys Kisses or maybe small Peanut Butter Cups or even Reeses Pieces would be great) instead. Perfect for any celebration or for eating at any time of the day!

And onto other blogging news...Writing at the Kitchen Table has been nominated for Best Food Blog as part of the Bloggers Choice Awards 2007, so if you feel that our little blog is worthy, click on the button below and make yourself heard!

And if the lure of the chocolate brownies ahead isn't motivation enough, think of what I went through with the pigs head just to share the experience with you all!