Belated brownies

Last week was chocolate week in the lockdown baking group that I'm in (hence the truffles). I had originally intended to make brownies last weekend as well - but thought better of it after making such an absurd quantity of truffles. But I had bought ingredients for brownies, and also been subjected to photo after photo of frankly obscenely gorgeous looking brownies from the others in the group. So even though it's late (we're now at the end of pastry week, which I have missed entirely...), I'm bloody well baking brownies! The recipe is from Waitrose and is essentially unchanged apart from using dark soft brown sugar instead of muscavado.

Chocolate Pecan Brownies

Ingredients

• 225g Butter
• 350g Dark chocolate
• 4 Eggs
• 350g Dark soft brown sugar
• 1tsp Vanilla extract
• 200g Pecans
• 225g Plain flour

Method

1. Melt butter and chocolate together.
2. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy.
3. Stir butter/chocolate into egg mixture.
4. Coarsely chop pecans.
5. Fold pecans and flour into mixture.
6. Pour into a lined tin and bake at 180C for ~30 mins.
7. Leave to cool (a bit!) before cutting.

Super easy with a stand mixer! I started whisking by hand initially, but decided that I was far too lazy for that. Pretty, no?

It's a little under baked (yes, I know brownies are supposed to be slightly under done, but I think it's a little too under), but my word, they're tasty.

I've been wanting to find a "go to" brownie recipe for some time - I think this one might be it!

Marzipan truffles

I like marzipan. I like truffles. Why not marzipan truffles?

Marzipan Truffles

Ingredients

For the filling

• 300ml Double cream
• 550g Dark chocolate chips
• 450g Marzipan

For the coating

• 400g Dark chocolate chips
• Chopped almonds
• 30g Icing sugar
• 15g Cocoa powder

Method

1. Make a ganache by scalding the cream and pour over the chocolate for the filling, and stir to melt the chocolate.
2. Look on in minor horror as the realisation of quite how much ganache you've just made hits you.
3. Refrigerate ganache overnight to set.
4. Shape the ganache into small marble-sized balls.
5. Roll out the marzipan and wrap around the ganache balls until it runs out.
6. Melt the chocolate and dip the truffles.
7. Roll them in the chopped almonds and set on a sheet of baking parchment.
8. When bored of dipping truffles, mix the icing sugar and cocoa powder, and roll the remaining truffles in the powder.
9. Refrigerate to set.

After one and a half hours of quenelling(ish), here are the truffle cores. Mistakes were definitely made when choosing quantities. I'm pretty sure that I've got some sort of chocolate-related muscle strain right now.

Done with marzipan wrapping.

The marzipan guys turned out nice!

Yup, mistakes were definitely made. The total ended up being 1.6kg!