Almond brownies with milo, and random thoughts

On the weekend we went for lunch at East Elevation where the mushroom, lentil and gruyere pie (on special and too mushroomy for my tastes) was very meaty and the brownie was tempting.  "But why would you buy a brownie when you are going to make one" spoke my wise child.  Indeed.  I put away all thoughts of buying the brownie, and went home to bake one in the short space of time before going out again.

As soon as I had seen Choclette post about her Triple Chocolate Almond Brownies recently I thought of the bar of dark chocolate with whole almonds that E turned his nose up at and the bag of almonds in the freezer that was getting in my way.  I am very partial to brownies and flourless almond cakes.  This recipe was like both rolled into one.  Sylvia asked me to use some milo because I still have a huge tin leftover from baking cake.  (Curse you, supermarkets, and your specials on huge tins of milo.)

I mentioned that I made it in a short space of time.  I literally pulled the brownie out of the oven and rushed out the door.  The brownie was so gooey that I wonder if I should have cooked it longer.  In the photo above you can see that the edge pieces have a more baked look with holes/aeration.  I think I should have left it a little longer so that the middle also had that look.  However I have loved this brownie.  While I love my brownies a little more fudgy than gooey, it is incredibly chocolatey and rich.  Exactly as I would expect from the chocolate loving Choclette.  Not for the faint hearted.

Before I go, I wanted to share a few random thoughts:

• I am feeling a bit annoyed with doctors lately.  I had a rash that was not bothering me and a doctor noticed it and said to put ointment on it.  So I bought the ointment and the rash got redder.  I saw another doctor who said I now need to buy another ointment to bring down the irritation from the first ointment.  Grrrrr!
• I have been reading Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield to Sylvia (I loved that story as a kid) about a little girl who is training to be a ballerina.  My own book at the moment is In the Woods by Tana French about the murder of a little girl who was training to be a ballerina.  It struck me that these are not good books to read at the same time.
• I recently visited a photographer I use at work.  As we were chatting, he asked if I wanted to see an Egyptian mummy's hand that was thousands of years old that he had for photographing.  What a fun - if slightly disturbing - moment at work.

Now I am off to finish reading In The Woods and to try and avoid the temptation of the brownies left in the tub.  They are so good!

More brownies on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Brownies with butterscotch chips
Candy cane brownies
Chocolate beetroot brownies
Chocolate brownies with chickpea flour (gf)
GF Donna Hay Brownies (gf)
Peanut butter brownies
Vegan brownies with optional dulce de leche swirl (v) 

Almond brownies with milo
Adapted from Tin and Thyme

175 g salted butter
175 g dark chocolate with whole almonds
110 g brown sugar
3 eggs
50g milo
1 tsp baking powder
150 g ground almonds freshly ground if possible
150 dark choc chips

Melt butter and chocolate. Add sugar and milo, then eggs and remaining ingredients.  Bake in a lined and greased square 20cm cake tin at 170 C for 35 minutes or until baked on top and still a little soft underneath if you touch the top.  Cool in tin, cut into squares and store for 4-5 days in an airtight container.

NOTES: The almond chocolate I used was Whittakers which is 62% cocoa solids.  If you use milo it is not a gluten free brownie but you could use a GF hot chocolate drink powder instead.  Or check out Tin and Thyme for a GF version.

On the stereo:
Recurring dream: the very best of Crowded House