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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be terrible upset that Delia failed me :O

83 replies

poppycomeshere · 13/10/2011 00:10

I follwed the recipe to the 'T' I even double checked it. (had never used her recipe for this before)
Check it half way looks okay, about 5 mins to end was looking getting close, take it out when buzzer goes.

My knife wouldn't even cut it - It was a pure rock - had to chuck it in the bin

Ahhhhh

I've lost the ability to cook and Delia has failed me :(

OP posts:
SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 13/10/2011 16:08

YABU - because I want chocolate brownies NOW!!!

Delia's crispy roast potatoes are the final word in roasties. But the amount of ground almonds in her recipe for marzipan is out by about 300g.

VikingBlood · 13/10/2011 16:09

Ok, just got home and have been thinking about brownies all day, have opened Nigella's book to get the recipe and have just remembered why I never make anything from it, it's all in bloody imperial with no conversion table, it's like reading the daily mail argh!

VikingBlood · 13/10/2011 16:17

All those who suggested Nigella ABVU as I now have pencil calculations scribbled all over my worktop.

lurkerspeaks · 13/10/2011 16:25

IME Nigella is great if you can bake (I can). The only thing of hers that hasn't worked is the butterscotch for the butterscotch layer cake and I wans't using a sugar thermometer like she suggested.

I don't bake with Delia but she is generally reliable is somewhat tight on portion size.

However for the best chocolate brownies try the humminbird bakery recipe they are great and really quick to make (and you don't end up with thousands in the way you do if you use Nigella).

alemci · 13/10/2011 16:38

I always find delia's stuff good. I still refer to the Stork cookbook from my cookery days at school.

Nigel slater is a bit smug. Has he moved house because I used to love his old kitchen in South London.

ravenousbugblatterbeast · 13/10/2011 16:41

Suzi Wong's recipe on this very site is a good 'un, reeeeaaaaaly squidgy in the middle if you get the timing just right, yum...

ouryve · 13/10/2011 16:49

I've baked a few delia cakes which are either over-complicated and then turn out disappointing or just not all that great at all. I do have a few of her recipes that I do love, though - like her Irish Whisky Christmas cake (though it seems to cook in a fraction of the time she gives).

I'm always conservative about when i check for done-ness, though, even with a recipe I've made a dozen times. Specially since my oven seems to have developed a bit of mind of it's own, recently.

VikingBlood · 13/10/2011 16:59

Alemci I use my mum's Stork recipe book all the time, it's brilliant!

lovecat · 13/10/2011 20:26

Right, you lot, because of this thread I am making chocolate brownies tonight!

And I'm sticking with Nigella... :)

Bellavita · 13/10/2011 20:31

Mary Berry!!

BrEEEKOutTheKaraoke · 13/10/2011 20:44

Maybe someone on this thread can help me with my brownie problems....whenever I try and make them, I basically end up with a chocolate cake instead. Why? What am I doing wrong? I NEED brownies!

dawntigga · 13/10/2011 21:03

Delia has NEVER failed me, I, on the other hand, have failed Delia many times through lack of trust.

PromisesToALWAYSBelieveDeliaFromNowOnTiggaxx

Bellavita · 13/10/2011 21:09

Use Mary Berry's recipe - stick all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix. Add choc chips. Mix. Put in brownie pan. Bake.

Bellavita · 13/10/2011 21:10

here

AitchTwoOh · 13/10/2011 21:12

i have tried a goats cheese flatbread thing about fifty gerzillion times and it is cack.

bruffin · 14/10/2011 08:01

I now feel a little bit vindicatedGrin

Delia's old lemon curd recipe called for 3oz caster sugar to 2 eggs
her new recipe on line is 12oz sugar to 4 eggs

That's twice as much sugar in it!

VikingBlood · 14/10/2011 09:38

If you over cook brownies they can either go rock hard or turn into cake. HTH.

glastocat · 14/10/2011 10:30

Delia's scrambled eggs are minging, far too runny.

AitchTwoOh · 14/10/2011 10:31

oh no i love her scrambled eggs, if you mean the ones where you add butter at the beginning and end of the process. [fat] Grin

valiumredhead · 14/10/2011 10:44

My top tip from scrambled eggs is never add milk - bit of butter at the beginning in a non stick pan and JUST eggs and cook on a very low heat. Mmmmmmmm...

AitchTwoOh · 14/10/2011 10:54

and then more butter at the end. i tells ya. Grin just montys it right up.

alemci · 14/10/2011 11:00

I am going to cook some now from the tupperware cookbook. These are quite good and use pecan nuts and yoghurt.

5Foot5 · 14/10/2011 13:35

I think you must have made a mistake. Delia does not fail and I saw on a TV programme about her that there is a team of people who test her recipes umpteen times before they get published.

I did have a failure with her once but it turned out to be my fault. I was trying to half the quantities on one of her recipes but forgot to halve one of the crucial ingredients.

BrEEEKOutTheKaraoke · 14/10/2011 21:30

Right, I'm trying Mary Berry this weekend, thanks for the recipe. I WILL learn how to bake brownies.

lovecat · 15/10/2011 09:44

Well, I made brownies last night with Nigella's Domestic Goddess recipe, substituted 25g of flour for cocoa as suggested above and they are..... gorgeous :) Not sure they're better than the norm, but they are v. nice. And we are having them for breakfast [slack mother emoticon] :o