Nigel Slater's Choc Brownies

[aseriouslyblondemoment]

does anyone have a recipe to beat his?

120 a fellow mumsnetter also has a lovely recipe for brownies

Would like to try Nigel's to compare (as he is God ) but 120's brownies are fantastic, always get lots of compliments and requests for the recipe when I make them for friends/ guests.

SchnitzelvonKrumm is right, though I would add that Nigella's recipe makes a huge number - you can halve it and still have a dozen generous squares. Same cooking time, I found.

The Hummingbird blondies are amazing, but white chocolate might be considered blasphemous.

If you do my brownies, cook them for around 22 mins to keep them fudgy and let them set a bit before cutting. Also definitely do the swap in suggested at the bottom.

I'm off to try all the other recipes now!

lol @ 120
i will have a look at your recipe too esp as it's legendary!!
i am making nige's yet again today but i'm doubtful that there will be any left to freeze as dp has his mate round tonight for dinner and what's left will no doubt be taken with them on their boys day out tomorrow!
has anyone else tried freezing them yet?
120 do yours freeze btw?

asbm

same problem as you - if they aren't eaten they get snaffled by DD for the nursery teachers or taken to work by DP. To be honest ours only take about 10 mins to mix up and I don't have a freezer (just an ice box) so that's one experiment I'll never find out about.

What are the qualities of Nige's brownies that are so good? I'm thinking that everyone likes different things in a brownie, so maybe we should categorise all the recipes, depending what is good about them? I like my recipe as it's quick and adaptable (works whether you shove in nuts/cranberries/white chocolate chips etc). The result is deepy chocolately and fudgey without being too sweet. If you overcook them they are quite cakey (which I don't like) though kids still like them and they can be eaten more easily by hand as they don't squidge.

ohhh i love that word snaffled tis the sign of a good cake
yes i agree that we must categorise all these brownie recipes,am sure that many MN-ers would be up for that
imo i think nige's are fudgey and moist and taste equally good whether out of the tin or straight out of the fridge iyswim
they also can be made without resorting to green & blacks or similar and still taste lush
i have made them with sainsbo's value choc and they still have the snaffle factor

ah. a cake gourmet, I see. So the rating system will be a snaffle factor.

Mine do resort to a bit of green and blacks drinking chocolate (by preference), but don't use any chocolate bars at all, just cocoa. Particularly handy when you've eaten all the real chocolate and still fancy more!

I will definitely have to make them now and compare.

I need to get missj over to this thread to give the recipe a snaffle factor as I feel it would be rude to rate my own . She has also developed her own method to making them as she makes them every week so has tips aplenty.

I've made Hummingbird bakery ones and Nigels ones at the same time to compare. Nigel wins hands down

rofl
the snaffle factor it is then!!
i do use green & blacks, but not often, due to the cost it's kept for those adult only affairs iyswim
but yes sainsbos cheapo dark chocolate works fantastically well,admittedly not for most choc cakes but for nige's brownies oh yes!
another reason why i think this recipe is such a success
will look forward to hearing from missj
bumpybecky that must have been hard work scoffing testing those!!

I'm here! Yes, I make a double batch of 120s brownies every week for our holiday business and I take all the credit! They are tres snaffley, it must be said. People just love them, every time. Simple, gooey, not too sweet, and even better after 30 secs in the microwave served up with posh vanilla ice-cream. They last for ages just in the fridge too. Haven't tried freezing them though.

Nigel's are very good, I will admit, but what a hassle making them!

My streamlined version of 120s brownies are simply to dump all dry ingredients in a large bowl, melt the butter, and add along with all wet ingredients. Stir with wooden spoon, and that's it. Add extra yolk for extra gooiness if you like. And put in the fridge for 2 hours before even attempting to cut. I then cut the edges off (and keep for children) before cutting into neat squares.

Thanks again 120!

I am making Nige's again tonight as have been requested to take them to a do on Sunday.

I always use G and B cocoa for them but if I don't have a stock of G and B 70 pc choc in the cupboard ( I buy boxes of it when its on offer ), I use Sainsbo's Taste the Diff 70 pc which is about £1 per bar.

I always refrigerate once cold as they are impossible to cut otherwise.

Snaffle factor: 10

I think what makes them so special is the combo of the fudginess with no nuts getting in the way, the slight fruitiness/spiciness of the cocoa and the almost imperceptible tiny bits of chocolate you happen upon. They really taste dark, iykwim.

great write up taffeta.

I love Nigel's - always have them with greek yogurt/creme fraiche and red berries, and you can serve them as a cake like that. MMmmmmmm......

oh yes the snaffle factor needs the microwave melting test too
they're in the oven as i post

have deviated a tad this time..purely in the interests of this thread of course and at dp's request as well!
will see how the addition of white choc turns out

mwahahaha

batch in the fridge

minus one taste tested

I've tried this recipe twice now and it's crap.
The first time I thought I'd used too small a tin so tried with a slightly bigger tin and they refused to set.
I covered with foil as the edges were burning but they still wouldn't set.

I shovelled them into a bowl with a lid and DD still ate them but I wasn't impressed.

mugglewump i'm stumped tbh
hoping that someone else will come along with some ideas
TC are you having them as is or are you snaffling (god i love that word!) them with ice-cream?
well the extra addition of white choc shards was hardly noticeable
i guess it's just a case of 'if it aint broke....'

I would also say that SuzyWong's recipe is te best and easiest to follow

here

I would say Mary Berry's brownie recipe is the best!!

I'll try SuzyWongs next then and then Mary Berry's after.

I love Brownies but Nigel's recipe doesn't work for me at all.

Mary Berry's brownies are an all in one recipe so you cannot get easier than that!

muggglewump - they don't set really. you have to put them in the fridge for a good few hours once they have cooled down completely to have any chance of cutting them. its even then hard to cut them attractively. the first time I made them I thought I'd made a mistake, but that's how they are. in all their glorious fudginess.

blonde - as is. with strong coffee and perhaps a raspberry....

......if I can snaffle one that is before all my greedy rellies pile in