Peanut Butter and Raspberry Brownies
It was so lovely yesterday the wee man and I walked to Albert Cuypmarkt in De Pijp which is a daily market and apparently one of the largest in Europe. It sells just about everything and has some great food stalls but I needed the raspberries for these Peanut Butter and Raspberry Brownies and I can't resist a wander in a market on a sunny day. All the berries are in season so I was spoilt for choice and came back with a big haul including a huge watermelon which I have been snacking on in the sun!
Because it's summer, and in this heat, I wish I could do that old Jamie Oliver trick where you cut a whole in the top of a watermelon, just through the skin to the flesh, the size of the mouth of your chosen bottle of spirit and then pop the watermelon over the bottle inserting the neck in the hole and up-end the whole thing so that the bottle slowly drains into the watermelon. Then, when it's all in, you cut it up and hey presto boozy watermelon wedges! I reckon it would work with a nice bottle of rosé too which is my favourite summer tipple.
I'll have to wait for next summer when I've stopped breast feeding.
Last week we were back in the UK which was lovely and the wee man's first trip outside of Amsterdam. It was a fun filled week and started out with a bit of a bang. My husband went off for a boys weekend Saturday morning racing his motorbike whilst the wee man and I saw my parents, he was back Saturday afternoon in a grump with a broken foot, a broken hand and wounded pride. He did manage to hobble round admirably the rest of the week but it wasn't quite the rest and relaxation I had envisioned for the holiday.
We began in Melton Mowbray, Pork Pie capital of the world. Food is love in my family and the day is quite often planned out around meals especially when its a special occasion. My dad is a great cook and my mum's speciality is sweets and baking. Safe to say we were well fed. My contribution to the weekend was these brownies. My dad, who can be a man of few words when you ask him how something is, loved them. That's the Mr Kipling stamp of approval right there!
We then headed to Middlesbrough, my husbands home town where wee man met his great grandparents and we delicious home-made Parmo's (thanks Geoff!!). The 'Boro Parmo is traditionally pork fillet flattened and bread crumbed, much like a schnitzel, then shallow fried before the top is covered in bechamel and grated cheese and grilled so its beautiful brown and bubbling. You quite often see it now made with chicken but if you ask a true Smoggy (what the people of 'Boro are affectionally referred to as) the proper way is with pork.
Then we hit Newcastle to see more family and friends. We had to pop in to see my old gaff the Quilliam Brother's Teahouse which is still just about the best place you will find anywhere for a brew and a bite to eat. You won't be disappointed if you visit.
Next stop was Manchester for a reunion with two of my best friends from university and their children. It has been 10 years since we were at university together, we've all moved away, got jobs, got married and had babies. We don't talk everyday, you miss special occasions because life gets in the way and we sometimes don't see each other for years but when we do get together it is like no time has passed. Love those ladies.
Friday was our friends wedding in Wigan which was just beautiful. Everyone was so happy and you could feel the love. I think it helped that the couple in question are two of just about the nicest people you could meet! The food was great. It was all big sharing platters that you passed round the table and pudding was trifle. TRIFLE! AMAZING!!! There was also a brew station where you could make tea, coffee or hot chocolate with all the goodies to pimp your drink, a doughnut table, a cheese tower and jam and marmalade favours. It was all amazing and we ate so much but we were still sat in bed in our hotel room eating wedding cake (which the bride made herself!) at the end of the night.
Then we were back to my parents to regroup and repack and finally got to try some of their homegrown rhubarb! My mum made an epic no bake cheesecake with stewed rhubarb. You really can't beat lovely homegrown produce, simply prepared when it's in season and it's barely travelled 10 foot from earth to kitchen to table!
But finally to the brownies! These brownies are my nod to the classic PB & J in brownie form. I know strictly speaking these don't actually contain jam or jelly. I did consider using raspberry jam but I was worried that it would make the brownies too sweet and sickly and the jam would get lost in the brownie batter. By using fresh fruit you have the contrast of flavour and texture. This particular incarnation of the recipe comes from my standard brownie recipe that I have been making for years however when I was back in the UK I forgot my recipe book and had to remember the recipe from memory. I didn't do too badly but these have less sugar and cocoa and an extra egg. They are rich but somehow very light, deceptively so, and the tart raspberries work perfectly against the dark chocolate and creamy peanut butter. I like mine on the cakey side of fudgey but you can adjust this to your own preference by simply reducing the baking time. Please also be aware that your baking time will depend on the size of your baking tray and thusly the depth of the mix. Sorry if it seems obvious but a bigger tray = shallower depth = less cooking time! Tweak appropriately.
I know most recipes that use dark chocolate call for 70% cocoa solids but these brownies don't require it. A standard dark chocolate which is usually around 54% cocoa solids works perfectly and you still maintain the rich dark flavour.
PEANUT BUTTER & RASPBERRY BROWNIES
Makes 15
Ingredients
185g Butter
185g Dark Chocolate
225g Caster Sugar
4 Large Eggs
75g Plain Flour
25g Cocoa
Pinch Salt
75g Smooth Peanut Butter
15 Raspberries
30g Salted Peanuts, chopped
- Preheat your oven to 185°c and grease and line a baking tray (mine was 27 x 18 x 4cm)
- Place the butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and place over a pan of simmering water to melt. Once melted set to one side as you don't want it to be hot when you combine it with the other ingredients.
- Whisk together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. You should be able to drizzle a figure 8 and it hold for a couple of seconds. It really is important to make sure you whisk this really well as there are no other raising agents in these brownies and this ensures they are light yet fudgey!
- Pour the cooled chocolate and butter into the whisked eggs and sugar and fold in gently by hand with a spatula. Once well combined sift in the dry ingredients and again fold in gently until just combined.
- Meanwhile warm the peanut butter in a pan over a low heat until it is runny.
- Pour the brownie batter into your lined tray and spread it evenly. Drizzle over the warmed peanut butter in long rows. Then with the back of the spoon drag through the mixture diagonally from the left top corner of your tray to the bottom right corner. Repeat this from top right to bottom left. This creates an attractive feathering.
- Place the raspberries into the mixture 3 x 5. I do this so that when you cut the brownie into individual squares each one has a raspberry. You could throw caution to the wind and arrange scatter them over the top. Push each raspberry into the mixture so that it is just peeping through the mix.
- Scatter the chopped salted peanuts over the top.
- Place the brownies into your preheated oven for 25 mins (or just 20 minutes if you like them very fudgey!)
- Allow to cool completely before cutting.
For more images of my cooking adventures follow me on Instagram @cooknoevilchef
24/10/18 - I have adjusted the cooking time for this recipe. I baked this again in my new oven and it took far less time. My old oven wasn't the greatest and I don't want anyone baking a duff batch and blaming me when my cooking time was based on what my oven could manage! I mention in this post about adjusting time according to your tray but I'll expand this to include your oven as well. You know if yours runs hot/cooler so adjust accordingly.
Love Sam x
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