Brownies of Spices

This is one of my azoteric experiments gone right :) 

The brownies are soft and gooey - the pepper heightens the chocolate flavour and the cinnamon gives smooth and sophisticated  backdrop ! 

INGREDIENTS : 

180 gms of oil 

1 tsp instant coffee powder 

300 gms dark chocolate ( cut in chunks ) 

2 cups sugar ( 300 gms ) of which 100 is brown and 200 is  granulated white 

5 eggs ( room temperature ) 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp freshly ground pepper 

1 tsp cinnamon pwd

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup flour 

2 tbs ( 30 gms ) coco 

METHOD : 

Line a square shallow  pan with butter paper

Pre Heat the oven to 200 deg 

Sift the flour and coco and baking powder and set aside 

Melt the chocolate in a pan with the oil and coffee pwd using a double boiler , once melted stir untill smooth and shiny 

Whisk sugar and spices ( pepper , cinnamon ) vanilla essence 

Add one egg at a time and vigorously whisk till a pale yellow thick mixture is obtained then add the chocolate mixture ( go ahead dip your finger and taste it ! :) 

Fold in the flour 

Pour it into the pan , 

Bake for 20-25 min till a tooth pick comes out clean , let it cool , cut it into squares and eat in moderation with a smile on your face :) 

"42" Translated

So exams are finally over ! And I find my self wondering and pondering .....

Eventually I find my self faced with the daunting "42" and similar to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy I have no clue what it translates to and by this time the questions also elude me ! 

Hence I found my own translator " a warm freshly baked decadent chocolate cupcake" because the deep sense of peace that enveloped me while I baked - watched it rise and decorated it , helped put everything in perspective :) oh and then to be told " oh my god this is orgasmically good " didn't hurt either :) 

Ingredients 

Makes 24 large cupcakes 

100 gms chocolate 

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee 

2 cups sugar

2 cups rice flour

1 cup coco

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking pwd 

1 tsp salt 

3 eggs 

3/4 cup oil

1 cup water + 2 sachet econorm 

1 tsp vanilla essence 

Method 

Weight out all the ingredients and line the cup cake moulds and pre heat the oven to 120 deg Celsius 

Melt the chocolate with the coffee -  set it aside 

Sift all the dry ingredients ( I personally prefer to do so thrice ) 

Beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla essence till a pale thick yellow mixture is achieved 

Slowly add the oil and water with the econorm while continuing to beat the mixture rather vigorously 

Add the coffee and chocolate mixture 

Fold in the dry ingredients 

The resultant mixture should homogeneous and  thick 

Spoon the mixture into the moulds and bake for 25 -30 mins / till a tooth pick comes out clean 

Icing 

200 gms chocolate cut into chunks

100 gms cream (riches non dairy ) 

Wee bit of vanilla essence 

Boil the cream take it off the fire and then mix in the Chocolate chunks till u get a smooth and shiny mixture 

Let it cool , occasionally give it a stir so as to prevent lumps 

Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled , go wild decorating :) 

Nutritional benefits 

These cupcakes are exceptionally decadent and rich that it would be silly if I tried to highlight the calories !

However they are gluten and lactose and trans fat free as well as rich in probiotics so definitely a lot healthier and tastier than the store baught stuff :)