I love the way that baking, and lockdown have become natural bed fellows. For a lot of people busy with everyday life, there just doesn’t seem to always be the time to bake. But during lockdown when time stretches out endlessly in front of us, baking provides the perfect distraction. It’s also probably the need for comfort at a difficult time, plus some much-needed distraction and a chance to be productive – after all isn’t bringing something delicious out of the oven, literally the best feeling?
Brownies are literally a great cake to start with if baking can be a little daunting, they’re very forgiving and delicious. I’ve chosen this Brownie recipe, firstly because it keeps beautifully (that’s if its not snaffled immediately!) also because it’s the Brownie we serve at Gastrono-me and have been doing for the last 8 years! I thought by posting it here, you can give it a go and get a small Gastrono-me fix whilst we’ve been forced to close over lockdown. If peanut butter is not your thing, omit that part, it will still be delicious (keep the banana in though!). We also used to fold in raspberries (frozen ones work the best) the Brownie becomes a little more delicate, but a broken brownie doesn’t really matter when it’s on one-way direction to your mouth!
Whichever way you are spending your lockdown, I hope you get to enjoy some family/you time. I know it’s incredibly difficult to only see it as a never ending time we’ve been sentenced to, but if there is one way of getting through it, it’s by punctuating your day with an achievement – this was mine today.
Remember I’d love to know how you got on with your bake, or even see your Brownie creations.
Break up the chocolate into rough pieces and add to a saucepan with the sugar and butter, then melt over a low heat, slowly mixing now and then to ensure nothing is sticking and the sugar is dissolving. When you have a nice cohesive mix, set it aside to cool a little.
In another bowl beat your eggs with the ripe mashed bananas, add this to your now cooled chocolatey mixture. Pour in your sifted self-raising flour and the baking powder. Don’t over stir, but make sure everything is combined and you have no traces of flour, little ‘nubbly’ lumps of banana are fine though.
Pour into your greased and lined 12 x 8 brownie tin.
In another bowl, mix together your melted butter, peanut butter and icing sugar. Word of warning – you will need immense willpower not to lick the spoon at this point.
Drop little dollops of the salty sweet batter over your brownie mixture and draw through with a skewer or the end of a knife. You’re going for a swirly effect, so embrace your inner artist. Finish off by sprinkling over a handful of crushed peanuts.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 15-20 mins, you are looking for it to have risen a little, and for the top to have set. It will still feel a little soft, unlike a spring-back ‘sponge feel’, but if inserted, a skewer should still come out cleanish, not wet. The idea of a good brownie is that it is fudgy and soft, not over baked.
This is delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream, but equally delicious cold with a cuppa. These brownies last beautifully in a tin due to the moistness of the banana. So, nothing left to do but to sit back relax.
Peanut Butter Brownie
Course: Desserts8
servings10
minutes25
minutesIngredients
300g soft brown sugar
150g dark chocolate – 70% cocoa solids at least
150g salted butter
3 large free-range eggs
3 ripe mashed bananas
110g sifted self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
- For peanut butter batter:
35g melted butter
40g icing sugar
120g peanut butter
A handful of salted peanuts for topping
Directions
- Break up the chocolate into rough pieces and add to a saucepan with the sugar and butter, then melt over a low heat, slowly mixing now and then to ensure nothing is sticking and the sugar is dissolving. When you have a nice cohesive mix, set it aside to cool a little.
- In another bowl beat your eggs with the ripe mashed bananas, add this to your now cooled chocolatey mixture. Pour in your sifted self-raising flour and the baking powder. Don’t over stir, but make sure everything is combined and you have no traces of flour, little ‘nubbly’ lumps of banana are fine though.
- Pour into your greased and lined 12 x 8 brownie tin.
- In another bowl, mix together your melted butter, peanut butter and icing sugar. Word of warning – you will need immense willpower not to lick the spoon at this point.
- Drop little dollops of the salty sweet batter over your brownie mixture and draw through with a skewer or the end of a knife. You’re going for a swirly effect, so embrace your inner artist. Finish off by sprinkling over a handful of crushed peanuts.
- Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 15-20 mins, you are looking for it to have risen a little, and for the top to have set. It will still feel a little soft, unlike a spring-back ‘sponge feel’, but if inserted, a skewer should still come out cleanish, not wet. The idea of a good brownie is that it is fudgy and soft, not over baked.
- This is delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream, but equally delicious cold with a cuppa. These brownies last beautifully in a tin due to the moistness of the banana. So, nothing left to do but to sit back relax.
