Nutella Brownies with Jaggery by Jeanne

Nutella Brownies with Jaggery by Jeanne 

See update below!

I know, I know, there’s really no justification for Nutella brownies in an Indian recipe blog, but I instructed Jeanne to use jaggery powder (Punjabi raw cane sugar), so thus I dare to include these. 

As I’ve mentioned in the last few postings, Jeanne drove seven hours to visit me, and attend our barbershop barbecue, as she loves this style of music.  She kindly helped us to prepare for the party, and together we adapted this recipe for Nutella Brownies.  I first received the basis for this recipe through an email from my sister years ago, but I have no idea from where that originated. 

As you can see above, Jeanne is a much neater cook than I am, carefully placing ingredients into little containers beforehand, as opposed to my own slapdash and toss ‘em in method.

I rarely bake brownies, or other sweets, so I didn’t realize that the cooling off period is a good indicator of how gooey the brownies will be.  Jeanne, who bakes a lot, nearly went delirious with joy when she saw this recipe has a two hour cooling off period.  She knew they’d be killer gooey from that indicator, and they certainly are.  I found them a bit too buttery, but she frantically insisted that less butter would have made them too ordinary.  Ordinary they’re not: 

   

Gobbled up before a pic could be taken!

½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ teaspoon coarse salt (reserve some)
2 eggs
1 cup Nutella
½ cup jaggery powder (gur or raw cane sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup melted butter 

Preheat oven to 325F and line an 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.  In one bowl mix flour and most of the salt.  In a mixing bowl, beat eggs at medium speed, then add nutella, jaggery and vanilla.  Slow the speed right down and alternately add the flour and melted butter.  Pour into the pan, and spread out with a spatula.  Sprinkle a few of the salt crystals across the top.  These must be very few and very far between.  It will be the lucky person who finds a single salt crystal on their brownie.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Actually, I just made these again this May 2014, but with a squidge more flour and a squat less butter.  They're not as squishy and dense as the recipe on this page.  Find the recipe for this pic at http://cardamombliss.blogspot.ca/2014/05/more-jaggery-nutella-brownies.html

Cool in pan for two hours, yes this is the magic number that indicates these brownies are especially gooey.  Cut into very small pieces, as they are so rich. 

Under no circumstances should you  even think of spreading icing on these.  They are already so flavour packed, sweet and gooey, that you’d taste nothing but the icing itself.  What a waste of delicious ingredients that would be!  Same goes with adding walnuts or other flavourings. 

I am normally one to gild the lily, but in this case, if you really must add something, limit it to perhaps some nice silver or if you have it, gold foil.  Not aluminum foil, but the pure beaten silver or gold foil that is edible and available in good Indian grocery stores.  Honestly, these beauties must be served as is!

Thanks once more to Jeanne for her fabulous culinary skills.  Anybody else want to come visit me?

In the absence of pictures owing to too much yakking and gobbling, I dare to include this treasure, found on Facebook, which in turn was found by Radhika at Tickling Palates:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/lechariotdedesserts  

For some strange reason, several food bloggers were alarmed when I posted on FB that I'd include this pic on my Nutella Brownies post.  But everyone knows that cherubs are the essence of the divine!  Only heavenly stuff can come from them...

Update: October 10, 2012  I'm finally getting around to saying that Jeanne's latest idea is to beat the jaggery into the liquids first, so that it's fully dissolved, and to add 2 tablespoons of good cocoa powder to the recipe!  I preferred the texture of the first recipe, but Jeanne likes this smoother, more chocolatey version!