Milk Chocolate Brownies

Milk chocolate brownies??!! Did I hear you say that? Promise I won't be surprised or take offense that you frowned at these! That's the expected reaction from dark chocolate loving palates. No, I haven't shifted loyalties to milk chocolate, though Cadbury and Campco will always hold a special place in my heart.

Nostalgia! It was a special treat back then, when dark chocolate had not made an appearance yet, at least where we lived. It made the perfect dessert for my school picnics and other smaller special occasions. I remember eating just one piece of  my Cadbury bar at a time or it would get over too soon!  And the time we had forgotten a couple of bars near the window in summer to find that the chocolate had completely melted. Had cried as we could not eat the chocolate, though no amount of admonishing could stop us from licking the chocolate!

Though dark chocolate remains my guilty pleasure, I do enjoy stealing a bite of milk chocolate now and then. A little sweet, but still good! I had a couple of bars of milk chocolate a friend had given. I  did not really know what to do with them, and then I remembered these brownies on Deeba's blog. I had the perfect excuse to bake these for the kids to take on a holiday. A good make-ahead dessert on the move!

These brownies are very rich, chocolaty, fudgy and yes, just a tiny bit on the sweeter side.  Just the thing for your little ones this Valentine's Day? Or simply as a break from the usual dark chocolate brownies to bring back some childhood memories ?

Adapted from Passionate About Baking, the recipe here.  These are from the book 'Baking With Friends' by Kathleen Kings, owner of Tate's Bakeshop, New York. Recipe on the site here.

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter, cubed, soft - 113 grams / 1/2 cup
• Milk chocolate - finely chopped, 250 grams / 9oz
• Sugar - 85 grams / scant 1/2 cup (weigh and powder fine unless using caster sugar)
  
• Eggs -  96 grams / 2 large, room temperature
• Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Plain flour - 98 grams / 3/4 cup
• Cocoa powder  - 1 tbsp - 5 grams (just measure with your measuring spoon)
• pinch salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350 F. Mise en place. Line and lightly grease a 9'' square tin with aluminum foil or baking parchment  leaving an overhang. You could use an 8'' tin for taller brownies, but you baking time will be a few minutes more.
   
2. Sift the flour and cocoa. Keep aside.
3. In a medium sized heavy saucepan, melt butter and chocolate gently over low heat (on your stove-top) until just melted says the original recipe. Stir gently to mix evenly, then leave to cool slightly. Please read note. Scrape the mixture into a medium sized bowl.
4. Add the sugar, gently whisk to incorporate. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla gently. Add the flour mixture and stir in till well incorporated. Spread evenly into the prepared tin. 
5. Bake for about 15 -16 minutes or till the center is very slightly gooey when a toothpick is inserted in the center. ( I like them this way!) Do not over-bake, err on the side of under baking rather than over baking them.
6. Leave tin on cooling rack to cool completely. 
7. Gently lift the brownies from the pan (along with the foil) and cut into 16 squares.
8. Store airtight to retain the moisture in the brownies. I loved them fresh and warm from the tin! These tasted best the day they were baked, though they still remain moist and good later.

    
         Please note :

• Make sure your chocolate is chopped fine. If the chocolate is not properly and completely melted, your brownies will not have a good texture. Given that milk chocolate is more sensitive, it can be tricky.
• I was a little apprehensive about melting milk chocolate along with the butter. I have melted the butter (on the stove top) till it almost melted, took off the heat, added the chocolate and stirred . With heart in my mouth, very briefly put back on very low heat  as the chocolate did not seem to start melting fast enough.  Later I had to press my spatula here and there to melt some pieces, but all was still well in the end. Could have done a better job,  try your preferred method of melting chocolate, a double boiler may be the safest bet. Tell me how you did this if you try these.
  

• I may try substituting a tablespoon of the flour with cocoa to cut down on the sweetness, but the amount of sugar will be the same. Add some toasted walnuts or almonds to the batter if you like.
• Too much of heating of butter may make your brownies greasy. 
• Goes without saying that good quality milk chocolate will give you better tasting brownies. 

Make these once for a change and don't shy away from admitting that you did enjoy milk chocolate brownies!