Simple and Plain Fudgy Brownies

From Bev Shaffer's Brownies to Die For

Brownie Sheet

Cut and Plated with a scoop of Ben&Jerry's Vanilla ice cream

I had Ghirardelli's 100% chocolate that has expired for maybe a month or two. But I kept it in the fridge. And based on my logic, it should still be all right to be consumed as I kept it well in the fridge. The fridge should prolong the life span of the chocolate. Why else was the fridge invented for? Y was not convinced about this, but what did he know, right?

So I turned to this recipe from Bev Shaffer, it's one of the baking books that I bought assuming that I'd bake brownies every single day of my life (which obviously did not really happen). It was one thick recipe book just about brownies.

Result:
Tester 1 (myself): It's just like what its name suggested. It's simple, plain and fudgy. But, if I am to do it again, I will cut down some sugar and salt. Seriously, 400 grams of sugar is way too much (have you seen the mountain made up of 400 grams of sugar?) and 1 teaspoon of salt?? While I agree that the salt brought out the sweetness in the brownies, it should not turn it to salty. I criss-crossed the brownies with the chocolate ganache that I had from Big N's birthday cake. I love the chocolate ganache with the brownie. A good simple plain brownie that I will bake again if I run out other brownie recipes that I want to try out. I like the crackly top and the fudgy brownie. But, it's not chocolaty enough for me!

Tester 2 (Big N): Ma, I love it! It's a bit too sweet, but I still love it! (sweet talker)

Tester 3 (Little N): Wow, this is sweet! I love it, because it's sweet and I have sweet tooth

Tester 4 (Y): Not bad..(he had stomachache and diarrhoea afterwards, and I swear, it was just plain coincidence or according to the law of attraction, it was the way his mind attracted the stomachache on his own). He had recovered, but he'd jump out whenever I offered him a slice of brownie with ice cream on top!

I am still alive and baking

And still doing my annual birthday project! 

This one was to celebrate Little N's 8th birthday. 

Oh, yes, our little N has turned into one sassy little lady! 

I adore her more and more each day. She's witty, smart and has a wonderful sense of humor! 

Ballerina Cake

         

Ombre Cake...ehm..

         

Big N has entered his pre-teenage years too. He celebrated his 10th birthday earlier this month. I could not help but feeling mellow about how fast he grew up. His face as a baby is still freshly etched in

my mind, yet, everyday, I am being greeted with his big hug, his hard to answer questions, and his growing taller and bigger! 

He is into Pokemon now. One of the things that changed from time to time. We've got our share of Power Rangers, Spiderman, Ben 10, Spongebob Squarepants, Angry Bird, Naruto, One Piece, among others. But one thing never change, he is still a loving boy who will laugh at every single thing. A true mommy's boy, and I totally fall in love with him every day. 

Pokeball Cake

    

Chocolate Cake

    

Happy birthday, Nak! Thank you for coming into our life! Your papa and I must have done something right to get you two as my children. And I thank God every single time for that.