I often find the American culture too in your face and larger than life for my liking – I love the European laid back elegance and much more subtle approach to life. But when I realise that it is that same abrasive culture that gave us brownies and a TV series like Once Upon a Time, I tend to be much more lenient.

Brownies originated in America at the end of the nineteenth century. According to Wikipedia “A chef at Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel created the confection after Bertha Palmer (an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist) requested a dessert for ladies attending the fair; it should be, she said, smaller than a piece of cake, though still retaining cake-like characteristics and easily eaten from boxed lunches.

These first brownies featured an apricot glaze and walnuts, and they are still being made at the hotel according to the original recipe.”

But I prefer my brownies unadulterated, showcasing as much chocolate as possible. This is actually a quadruple choc brownie if you take the cocoa into account!

You’ll need

185 g butter
185 g dark chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1¼ cup castor sugar
⅔ cup cake flour
½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup white chocolate, chopped
¾ cup milk chocolate, chopped

This is how you do it

Place the butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until just smooth. Allow to cool.

Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Fold in the chocolate and butter mixture. Sift the flour and cocoa over the mixture and mix to combine. Add the white and milk chocolate, mix and pour into a 23 cm square cake tin, lined with baking paper.

Bake for 35 – 40 minutes in a preheated oven of 180˚C. Allow to cool before you cut into squares.

HINT: The taste of these brownies will totally depend on the quality of the chocolate and cocoa you use!

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