Avocado Brownies

Have I mentioned that I love brownies ?

I just checked my recipe index, and from the staggering amount of brownie recipes I have there (just two or three, wow), I find it hard to believe myself. Oh well, that can be easily remedied.

But before I go on about them, let me just say that I have gathered my guts and went to ask for a job. I'm not sure if I got it, but I loaded up on sugar (in lieu of some candy bars) and took off before I had a chance to even think about what I was doing. They seemed pretty nice and generally okay with the idea of me actually working there.. Oh I don't know. Fingers crossed. And toes and hair and limbs and whatever. Please give me the job...

Anyhoo, I made some brownies yesterday because I had some avocados in the fridge. In case you're thinking, brownies ? Avocados ? Well I can explain. I originally bought some to make guacamole (which I am obsessed with at the moment) but then I got lazy I didn't have any tomatoes to put in the guac, nor did I have any nachos or chips of eat the guac with. See my awesome planning skills ? So yeah, instead if letting them turn into mush in my refrigerator, I got onto looking and unearthed a recipe for brownies and ice cream. Both made with avocado.

How are they, you ask ? Well the ice cream is a mint chocolate chip one, and the avocado adds a nice green hue without me having to 'help it out' with some coloring. My sister insisted that I splosh in a LOT of mint extract because she's the biggest fan of mint-chip ice cream on the face of the planet. It's bordering on toothpaste now, but she's oddly excited about it and keeps eyeing the container even though she feigns disinterest. Hmm..

But the brownies ! They're dense slabs of chocolate and taste nothing like avocado. With the advantage of having not butter or oil in them, nor any flour, they're gluten free and good for you. You know, what with some healthy fats and chocolate thrown into the mix. At least, that's what I told myself when I cut them into squares and then ate some after the photo shoot. I did throw the pan back into the fridge after that.. Then I hemmed and hawed and went back for another piece. I need to get these out of the house.

P.S: I won't post the recipe for the ice cream because I want to give it another try. The taste is spot on but the texture isn't as smooth as any of the ice creams I've made before.. Then again maybe it's because I put in a crapload of chocolate chips. Oops.

P.S#2: I GOT THE JOB. Sure it's not the highest paying job out there and it's ten long hours of work six days a week but I GOT THE JOB ! Okay, my brain just went ten hours hohoho you're going to pay for it but regret schmegret, I GOT THE JOB !!!!

Time to cut myself another piece of brownie celebrate !

Avocado Brownies

Recipe adapted from here.

1 medium ripe avocado
250g dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup rice flour

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line an 8 by 8 inch pan with parchment paper.
2. Peel and remove the pit from the avocado. Put it in a food processor or a blender and blend until you get a smooth, lump-free purée. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth.

3. Add both the sugars and blend until well combined. Add once egg at a time, processing until you can't see the yolk any more before adding the next egg. Blend in the vanilla and salt.

4. Add the cocoa powder and rice flour and blend to mix. They're both gluten free, so you don't have to worry about overworking the mixture, though you could pour out the batter into a mixing bowl and fold in the cocoa powder and rice flour by hand. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand, you wouldn't want to blend those.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until set. Don't overbake them, be sure to take them out while they're still a little fudgy in the middle. Cool completely, then refrigerate until cold before cutting into squares. Serve with ice cream if desired (optional, but recommended).

Double Chocolate Muffins with Roasted Cocoa

I am a chicken.

I had made up my mind to go to a certain somewhere (I'm not saying where exactly just yet) and ask if they're looking for part timers. I've been feeling jittery about it, though, and the reason for this is I've, um, been there before. As in, I know the people there. As in, they know who I am as well. I think I've been putting off going to ask for a job so long that I've managed to talk myself into thinking it's a stupid idea. What if they think I'm being weird for going to work there ? What if they see me in a different light after that ? What if they laugh in my face ? What if - I can't even bear to think about this - they don't want me there ?

Sigh. 

Kids, the moral of the day is, don't put off anything you're nervous about for too long. Heck, don't put it off at all. If you have a tooth that needs to be pulled, go have it pulled. Or better yet, pull it out yourself. If you keep thinking "oh, I'll just do it tomorrow", chances are, you'll never get around to doing it and the tooth will have become so painful and achey that even the mere thought of touching it sends you into a nervous breakdown. Then you begin to regret never going to pull it out in the first place and all you do is lie on the couch whining in pain until your mom comes up with a pair of pliers and yanks the goddamn tooth out of your gob. I'm just sayin'.

 I don't even know why I'm so scared. Okay, maybe I do. I had already dressed and was one shoe out of the door when I chickened out and kicked my shoe off and took refuge in the library upstairs. Then I texted my friend and asked if he could get the chef's number instead, so I could maybe text or call and not have to head there in person. I know, I know, I'm pathetic. 

My mom doesn't get it, though. She was surprised to find me still at home when she got back from work, then when I tried to explain why I didn't go, I got frustrated and proceeded to burst into rather annoyed tears. The worst part was, I couldn't stop, and then my mom (who gives a gem of an advice when I need it but rarely coddles me - that's probably why I'm deprived of hugs) just waited till I calmed down and said that "I shouldn't be overthinking this, because I'm probably just another girl who wants to look for a part time job there."

Oh. That certainly puts things into perspective. 

With a weight of my chest, I managed to crack a smile, then a laugh, then work up an appetite for dinner waaay too early. She took me out to get some food even though the sky wasn't even dark yet and it was so early, people would probably throw eggs at me if they knew what time I ate. Thanks, mom :)

Therefore, I hereby declare that I will go back there and I will ask if they have a job opening. Even if the opening is just for a month. Even if my knees shake and my palms sweat and I forget how to phrase a sentence (maybe not the latter because I am going to need to speak if I am to actually ask). This is so if I feel like chickening (is that even a word ?) out, I'll look back at this and feel horribly guilty and that'll prompt me to go anyway.

And now onto the muffins. I needed a one bowl recipe since water supply has been rationed for yet another month, and having too many bowls piling up in the sink would be a bad thing. So I thought, okay, muffins. Then I remembered that I spotted a recipe for roasted cocoa powder somewhere and then I thought, okay, chocolate muffins. And when chocolate muffins come about, you know there has to be chocolate chips. A chocolate muffin without chocolate chips is a sad chocolate muffin.

Have you ever heard of roasted cocoa powder ? Me neither. But it's impossible to get dark cocoa powder here, and I wanted my muffins to be black with cocoa. And if you've ever used the usual cocoa powder, or even Dutch processed, you'll know that they never come out looking that dark. Chocolatey, yes. But that wasn't enough. So I spread the cocoa out on my baking sheet and roasted it...

5 mins: nothing happened, gave it a stir.

10 mins: nothing happened, stirred it again.

15 mins: is anything ever going to happen ?

20 mins: ohcrapthere'ssmoke.

Luckily for me (and the muffins), it wasn't burnt. It smelled like roasted coffee beans though, and although I wasn't too sure if that was what it was supposed to be like, I went ahead and used it in the recipe anyway. You can see from my pictures that the muffins came out looking dark and mysterious and as black as midnight. My sister did try one a few minutes later and remarked they were yummy, but they weren't as chocolatey as she expected though. I'm not sure if it's because I over-roasted the cocoa/she has reaaaally high expectations of chocolatey things/roasted cocoa just tastes subtler. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

If you want to try roasting your own cocoa powder, refer to this post. I would recommend keeping an eye on them so you don't get them to smoking point, like me. I think they'll be more chocolate-tasting then.

Double Chocolate Muffins

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Affair

Makes 11

125g cake flour
44g roasted cocoa powder, or you use dark cocoa powder instead
50g buckwheat flour
100g brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
60ml vegetable oil
250ml milk
80g chocolate chips, plus another handful to scatter over the top

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a standard 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, buckwheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, vanilla extract and milk. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir to form a batter but don't over mix this as a lumpy batter makes good muffins. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Fill up the muffin tin until each indent is 3/4 full. Sprinkle over the chocolate chips and bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Cool them in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Or you could eat them warm, because you know, warm muffins are the best thing ever.

Raspberry Blondies with White Chocolate Chunks

March 26th: the government announced that the missing plane, MH370 had crashed into the Indian Ocean. No one on board survived.

My father and mother sat there, stone-faced, listening to the rest of the news. I had to force myself to keep quiet. And not bawl. I didn't know what I expected.. But it certainly wasn't this.

The newspapers had black front pages as a tribute to everyone on board. There were pictures of the pilot, the crew and the passengers plus a little of their background stories. There were families, a couple on their honeymoon, sisters, brothers parents... There was a baby on board. It hurt to look. Everywhere I turned, there was just more confirmation of the news I didn't want to hear. 

I didn't know anyone on board personally. But a friend of my grampa's had lost his son - the boy was going on a holiday to Beijing. I felt bad for the people on board and the families that had to go through the grief of losing someone. And the thought that it could have been someone I knew or cared about scared me. So badly that I needed to reach out to some people - my family, my friends, anyone at all - just to be reassured that they were there. I felt the need to let them know that I cared. I haven't been doing that for a long, long time now. I was tired of being hurt so I shut myself away. And now, my heart has been locked up for so long, I couldn't remember when was the last time I told my best friend I missed her. Or when I let someone give me a hug. I needed to change.

Because in the end, you'll only regret the things you didn't say or do. You'll remember all the hugs you didn't give and the I love yous that you held back. Not to mention all the sweets you passed on.

I discovered Eatthelove a little while ago - and fell in love with it straight away. Irvin is one of the funniest bloggers I've ever read and his recipes made me hungry. I literally LOLed when I read his posts and I must have bookmarked every single one of them to make. In the sadness of the previous few days, I went back to his blog, read it from head to tail all over again, and immediately knew which recipe I wanted, no, needed to make.

I changed it up, though, having craved for the chewiness of a blondie and also not having any raspberries at my immediately disposal (damn, those things are expensive here). The bars were chewy and yummy and the white chocolate and raspberry jam (he said not to use jam and I did, here I hang my head in shame) was sweet and comforting. I ate my way through what was nearly the whole pan in three days, then picked up my phone and began dialing some numbers.

Raspberry Blondies with White Chocolate Chunks

See the original recipe here.

85g butter

200g brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 large eggs (yes, this is awkward. But you could always use 1 large egg + 1 large yolk)

140g all purpose flour

55g almond meal

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

125g white chocolate, chopped into chunks

1/3 cup raspberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Line an 8 by 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.

2. Put the butter in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Let the butter melt, then continue heating it until it browns - it'll bubble up a lot at first, then the color will start to change. Swirl the pan so it browns evenly, then once it's brown and smells like caramel popcorn, pour it into a large bowl, making sure to scrape out all the brown bits as well. 

3. Immediately add the brown sugar to the butter and stir to mix the two. It'll be kind of dry and sandy but keep stirring so it cools down a little. Add the vanilla then crack in the eggs (or egg plus yolk) and stir until it forms a thick batter. Add the flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt, stir until just combined. Don't over mix this !

4. Stir in the chocolate chunks, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan. It'll be thick. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Using a piping bag or a spoon, pipe or spread stripes of raspberry jam on the surface of the bars. Use a toothpick or a skewer to drag lines back and forth over the stripes to create a marble effect.

5. Bake the bars for 20 - 25 minutes, until the edges are darker brown and the centre looks set. Cool them completely before cutting into bars and serving - I love them cold from the fridge.

Rice Pudding Tartlets

Do you have any siblings ? And if so, are you the oldest ?

I tend to ask that question a lot. I'm not too sure why, maybe it's because I'm waiting for the other person to go "yes I do have one/two/seven siblings and I'm the oldest." Complete with an eye roll. I think many oldest siblings can relate.

Having brothers and sisters in the house is always an awesome feeling - it's merrier and louder (unless you're all as quiet as mouses, although I haven't met anyone who doesn't have a chatterbox in the family yet) and you get to do stuff together like watch movies and play hide and seek and annoy your parents to bits. But then when you're the oldest of the lot, you tend to get the most responsibilities, ie watching over the little ones in the absence of an adult and making sure they don't get into a fight and pull each other's hair out. That used to be mine. Until I got older and learnt how to drive. Then I became my sister's personal chauffeur. And caterer too, apparently.

I don't usually mind, seeing as I'm the one with the driving ability so I don't actually have to rely on anyone when I want to go out. The only hard part is having to accommodate my schedule so I can pick her up at two o' clock on the dot because she gets annoyed when I'm (or any of us, in fact) is even a nanosecond late. Ditto with the catering. She's a late riser, unlike me so when I pack her breakfast (or brunch) for her, she's still asleep. She'll totter around the house for a few hours after she wakes, from brushing her teeth to showering to ambling downstairs, till which by the time would have been a few hours after I set the packet of noodles down on the dining table. But if I decide to wait till she's ready then take her out to pack some food so she can get it, you know, warm, I'm met with icy glares and curt answers because she claims to be too hungry to do anything before she's eaten. Whaaat.

Any complains submitted to the authority, err, parents are unfortunately, taken with a pinch of salt. They just sort of pat me on the head and say "well, you are the older one." Which, to my nineteen year old self, seems about as good an explanation as wanting cakey brownies because you don't like dense ones. Wait I don't think that even makes sense.

But I digress. I am somewhat older than I was when I first heard my cousin say "她还小，让她一点” which basically means "she's still young, give her some respect." I was only eight or nine at the time and I couldn't wrap my kiddie brain around the fact that I was supposed to respect both my elders and the youngsters. But I did look up to him at the time, so whatever he said, I took very seriously. For many years, I did my best to show what I believed was a respectful attitude towards my family, the young and old ones alike. And while I do get into trouble for some stick-my-foot-into-my-mouth situations, I'd say I'm good so far. I mean, I am still living at home and no one has killed me yet.

Is there a moral to this thing ? Yes, I suppose there is. If you're the oldest and you have to do the most chores/errands/odds and ends, do it and bite your tongue. Swallow your pride, whatever. Trust me, you'll only regret the things you didn't do. And if you're the youngest, or one of, don't make the older sibling take a bajillion trips in and out of the house just because you want to get home before your lunch does.

I shall stop talking now and show you the rice pudding tartlets I made. Yes, it's rice pudding and yes, it's in a tart shell. Before you think ohmigod she put carbs in my carbs let me just say that these are quite small and the ingredients aren't all that fattening. There's milk and egg in them and everybody knows that those are basically miracle foods, what with the protein and calcium and all. Plus, when these puddings could have been fried into submission and made into some sweet arancini, they're more modestly baked and served with some jam. The pudding is quite light and it's not too sweet. The pastry is a dream to work with. They are good. And this is coming from someone who will only take her rice in risotto form.

Rice Pudding Tartlets (recipe adapted from here)

Makes 8 tartlets, plus some pudding leftover.

For the pudding:

500ml whole milk

150g pudding rice (I used arborio)

1 whole orange

1 tbsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp brown sugar

4g baking powder

1 large egg, separated

For the pastry:

100g all purpose flour

50g rice flour

75g brown sugar

75g butter

4g baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg yolk

1. To make the pastry, sieve the flours into a bowl and whisk in the sugar, salt and baking powder. Dice the butter and add it to the flour mixture. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or two knives, or use your fingers to rub it in until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 2 tbsp of cold water, mixing just until it forms a soft dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill while you're making the pudding.

2. Zest the orange and squeeze out the juice. Put the zest into a pot with the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the rice and cook till it becomes soft and sticky, it'll take 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange juice, vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tbsp of the sugar. Leave to cool while you roll out the pastry.

3. Preheated oven to 170C. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's a 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles and use them to line the cavities of a standard muffin tin - you should get about 8 shells, reroll the scraps and use it all. Put this back in the fridge to chill.

4. Mix the yolk into the pudding along with the baking powder. Whisk the white until frothy, then gradually add the sugar and whisk until stiff and glossy. Fold the whites into the pudding, taking care not to deflate the mixture too much.

5. Spoon the pudding into the tart shells, filling them quite full. If you have any leftover, just plop them into some greased ramekins (I got three extra). Bake the tartlets for 40 minutes, until golden at the edges and the bottoms (you can lift one out to check). Serve them warm or cold, with some jam since they aren't too sweet ;)

Lighter Chocolate Tart

I sit here and type this rather blearily since I have just woken up from a nap. I seem to have developed a dependence on them lately (wait, haven't I said this before ?) maybe the late night blog-reading using my ipad in the dark of my room has something to do with it.. But it's almost impossible for me to get through a day without flopping down on here couch during the afternoon and taking a good, long snooze. Too long, sometimes, which inevitably ends in me being unable to get any shut eye at my usual 10.30pm. Hence the, um, blog-reading. 

My house is still deprived of water as of now (10.05pm on a Sunday night - uh oh, I should really be in bed by now) and it's making my fellow house habitants act rather weird. Maybe except my sister, who usually couldn't be bothered by much that happens, unless it happens to be her not finishing her homework. My dad has been annoying himself to bits by tinkering with everything that can be tinkered with and wondering why there still isn't any water coming out from the tap. He really isn't home much on weekdays since his work needs him to be at the office till late evenings at best, and since there's a constant supply of water over there, he isn't used to being waterless at all. Hence the annoyed noises emanating from the kitchen-bathroom as I type. My mom, well when she's not trying to calm my dad down, she's either cleaning anything that doesn't require water to be cleaned or watching Korean dramas on the laptop or television and consequently falling asleep about halfway through. 

Me, I'm just pissed that I can't bake as often as I like. And also because I seem to be a human heating element so I'm constantly feeling waaay too hot - oh and I drink a lot of water. Like, up to 4 liters a day, easily. I have to carry a water bottle so big, it can't fit into those dainty little handbags that my friends carry around, which means I either have to tote a bag so big I can fit my house into it, or use my bag pack with its myriad of rainbow colors and diamond studded teddy bear attached to the zipper. The sheer weight of that bottle makes my shoulders ache when combined with the crazy amount of books and tools I have to lug around to class when I went to university. When I go on outings, the people I am out with are constantly horrified at the sight of the monstrosity that carries my water supply, and the feeling is multiplied as they watch me down the entire contents of said monstrosity in about two hours. What ? I run and sweat a lot. Get over it.

We're just about coping with the lack of water, but not baking is driving me mad. Can you get withdrawal symptoms from this ? 

Since I am resorting to posting about things I made awhile ago, let me talk about this chocolate tart that I mentioned about in my previous post. I did say that I made it because I wanted to lighten up a little, and while usually the words 'light' and 'dessert' don't usually go in the same sentence, this is one light dessert that you should try. It doesn't taste light at all, unless we're talking about the texture. Then it's light. Ethereally so, I might add, since it reminds me of a chocolate mousse in all its decadently fattening glory, without the actual fat. There are no weird ingredients in this tart either, not that I have anything against putting avocado in my brownies. Now that is good. 

To be honest, when I made this, I was craving for a chocolate ganache tart, one with a filling so thick and dense that a few bites in will have you practically begging for a glass of milk. I had tried one when I went out for a soirée with a friend a few weeks ago and I couldn't stop thinking about it - ugh. But then I gave this tart a chance and while it wasn't the chocolatey slap in the face I was looking for, this managed to scratch that chocolate itch with its suave, melt-in-your-mouth smoothness. You know how some people say "you can eat a slice or two without feeling weighed down"? Well, that rings true with this tart, you won't be weighed down either figuratively, literally or emotionally. I hope I got the words right.

Lighter Chocolate Tart

For the crust:

165g cookie crumbs (you can use Oreos, I used digestives)

70g butter, melted

For the filling:

100g dark chocolate, chopped

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

2 medium egg whites

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

40g thick yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the butter with the cookie crumbs - it'll look like wet sand. Press the crumb mixture onto the base and up the sides of a 7" springform pan or deep, removable bottom tart tin. Make sure to really less down hard to get it compact, you wouldn't want it to fall apart on you later.

2. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely (I put it in the freezer because I'm impatient like that).

3. To make the filling, put the chocolate in a big bowl with the cocoa powder and 1 tbsp of boiling water. Melt this over a double boiler, but don't overheat ! I usually just stir it until the chocolate has mostly melted then take it off the heat to let the chocolate melt completely. Cool the mixture slightly.

4. Stir the vanilla, milk and yogurt into the chocolate mixture until smooth. In another bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add the brown sugar then whip until stiff, glossy peaks form. Fold a dollop of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it a little, then gently fold in the remaining whites until no streaks of white remain. Pour this into the baked crust then refrigerate for at least 3 hours - overnight is best - until set.

5. Open the sides of the springform pan or place the tart tin on a can, then gently press the sides of the tin down, leaving the tart and the base of the tin on the can. Sift over a little cocoa powder before slicing and serving, if you like.