Mellons Bay Chocolate Brownie

I have been wanting to share this recipe with you for a while. This recipe is cooked within 20 minutes, and doesn’t take long to prepare. It is so easy, and a recipe you will go to, time and time again. But this weekend the chocolate brownie wasn’t so simple.

Our youngest daughter Jennifer was home for just 25 hours over the weekend. She arrived on Friday afternoon, and was home to attend a friend’s 21st birthday party.  With just a short time frame, Jennifer had a list of things she wanted to achieve while she was here.

On the list was to do some baking on Saturday morning.  She told me “I’m going to make chocolate brownie, afghans and something else” to take back to uni. I offered to make ginger crunch, and left the chocolate brownie to Jen.

On the Saturday, we had brunch mid morning.  We were in chat mode, and then I quickly remembered that ginger crunch had to be made. With the ginger crunch out of the oven, I said to Jen we have to leave in an hour, so she better start cooking the brownie. Oh yeah, came the response. It was around 12.45pm. While I was finishing off the topping for the ginger crunch, Jen said  I need the recipe? When the Mellons Bay cookbook was finally found, Jen started on the brownie. She popped the brownie in the oven at 1.10 pm, and then I realised that we had to leave at 1.25pm, or we would miss check in. Oh time was running out.  We are usually a family that runs 5 minutes late, but not this time with a flight to Wellington on the agenda.  I took the brownie out with 4 minutes to go on the timer, hoping that it would be done! Maybe we can cut it up in the car when it had a cooled down.  Thinking of our new car, and the practical aspect, that thought did not last long!  Husband Andrew was in the background, saying it was time to go! Yikes, plan B.  Jen said you will have to send it down! Luckily, the ginger crunch was already to go, after a quick blast in the freezer!

Back home after dropping Jen at the airport, I made a further investigation of the brownie. It needed more cooking on the bottom, so I put it back in the oven twice for 5 minutes, and we finally had brownie that could be eaten!

Isn’t it funny how, no matter how many times you bake something, it can come out slightly different every time?  This was no exception and the result, was very fudgy but delicious. We managed to eat half of it, and the rest is now in the freezer, ready to be sent when required to Wellington.

I hope you love this recipe like we do.  We added the chocolate chips to the original recipe, which we obtained from the Mellons Bay Primary School cookbook published in 1997. The recipe is great on it’s own, or with ice cream, or a berry coulis. You can omit the chocolate chips for a healthier version, or maybe even add mixed berries. Just remember allow plenty of time for it to cool, before serving or giving to your teenage daughter to share with friends!

MELLONS BAY CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

Ingredients

125g butter

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup flour

5 tbsp. good quality cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Method

Heat oven to 180 deg Celcius.

Using a medium saucepan, melt butter on a very low heat, until liquid but not hot.  Beat egg, and then combine with sugar and vanilla essence. Add egg and sugar mixture to melted butter.  Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder and add to liquid mixture.

Mix well.  Add chocolate chips.  Spread using a spatula into a greased 18 x 28 cm baking dish.

Cook for 20 – 25 minutes.