SHF23 Surprise Inside - Brownie Explosion...

Surprise!
I’m joining in the greatest Food Blogger’s sweet-tooth event: Sugar High Friday. This month’s theme is, big surprise!, Surprise Inside and is hosted by Alanna from A Veggie Venture.

I love my sweets but yet I had a hard time choosing what to enter.
What is the ultimate surprise?
Finding a broken nail from the hostess in your dessert is also a surprise, but not really the one I was hoping for…
But what then?
What’s the best base and what’s its best surprise?
The answer was actually rather simple: chocolate.
chocolate, chocolate and... chocolate!

I began a bit of experimenting and ended up making these dense and dark brownies. Very rich, pure, oozy and delicious. Instead of making one big one, I put them in individual little muffin-tins, and for the big surprise…
I buried cherry liqueur pralines inside them.

Can you really think of a nicer surprise than finding a soft kirsch centre, an explosion of flavour, inside the best brownie you’ve ever tasted?

The whole thing went quite well actually - I made the batter, placed the surprise-filling in the tins, covered them up and placed them in the oven… - but let’s just say it was a real surprise to find that after 20 minutes 12 little chocolate volcano’s had arisen in my oven, very angry and spewing out their lovely sugary-kirsch lava…

OK, this was not really the surprise I was hoping for(!)

One tip, (in retrospect quite logic, but still…) make sure you completely cover up the bonbons - I used two different kinds of liqueur pralines (see photo above) and left the ones with those nice stems a bit uncovered…not my best move.
If you leave them uncovered, the alcohol will run out easily and vaporize when it’s chocolate layer melts…and they will turn out like this!

But luckily -surprise!- this didn’t ruin them at all (!)
they still looked very beautiful and they tasted absolutely amazing. Dark and dense, so rich and overwhelmingly chocolaty with still a delicious soft oozy kirsch centre…

Definitely worth a try!

I’ve added of course, - no surprise here - the recipe for you to try (and love)

Brownie Explosions (makes 16)

- 250g butter (2 sticks/1 cup)
- 250g best quality bittersweet chocolate (1,5 cup) chopped
- 4 eggs
- 325g (1 2/3 cup) fine granulated sugar
- 150g (1 ¼ cup) all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 16 Cherry Liquor pralines.

1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F) and grease and flour a muffin-tin

2. melt the butter and chocolate on low heat, stirring once in a while. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Mix in a different bowl the flour and salt.

3. Take the chocolate mixture away from the heat when it’s completely melted, and let it cool off a bit before adding it to the eggs.

4. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and mix well. Add the flour and mix until you’ll have a smooth batter.

5. Place in every muffin tin a praline and cover them COMPLETELY with the batter. Fill every form. bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until done. The top will be dark and dry, but the centre still sweet, dense and compact. Be alert; the difference between a nice sticky brownie and a dried out one is just a couple of minutes!

6. Let them completely cool in their forms and keep in an airtight box.

Blogging By Mail

A few weeks ago I found out about the Blogging By Mail project, this round organised by Stephanie from The Happy sorceress. The rules are simple:

Food bloggers from all over the world swap treats, baked good, recipes and more, sending a care package to a new friend. Cookies, cakes, jellies, breads, candies, teas and coffees, music, cookbooks, photos... Everyone who joins in will be given a swap partner to whom they'll send a package and you can fill your package with whatever you want to share.

Of course I immediately signed up - looking very forward to carefully put together my parcel, and not to forget, to receive my own little something (!)

My own parcel to send turned out to be very Dutch. I filled it with all kinds of things I love, but also tought of adding a lot of local Dutch stuff, things that would be completely new and unavailable on the other side of the globe.
Well, my package has just began its very long journey to its final destination. Please Mr. Postman; be nice and look out a bit for it, handle it with care so it will survive the shipping…!


And what a surprise was waiting for me last night…(!)

After a very long day at work - I just started my new job working in the kitchen of a grand café/restaurant. - but this is really a different story… - I got home and found waiting for me…

MY PARCEL!! *whoe-hoe…!*

I wasn’t expecting it to be here so soon at all, but was very happy and excited - I instantly forgot my tiredness and opened anxiously my parcel…

O, and what a wonderful and beautiful stuff where inside! It turned out to come from Mademoiselle Differentiell out of Switzerland and she wrote a lovely letter, which I really enjoyed reading, where she a bit explained what she had send and why.

This is what I got;

Not one, not two, but three chocolate bars out of Switzerland! She had read on my blog that I like hazelnuts so she chose a hazelnuts-bar (isn’t that thoughtful??) and two extra fine dark ones…

A bottle of Rivella - Rivella is a soft drink and comes originally from Switzerland, but is actually being widely exported to many countries; including the Netherlands (!) So unfortunately I already knew it, but I like the gesture! =)

And last, but certainly not least, she added some delicious self-made goodies: a jar of dandelion marmalade which she has made quite often since kindergarten, Nidelzalte - caramel candies and sables. Of course far more than you can see on the photograph, but I couldn’t help it and started sampling…- quickly this was all that was left to photograph. I absolutely loved them! And I think Mademoiselle Differentiell had foreseen this a bit, because she added three nice little cards where she had written on the recipes! =)

Thank you for the lovely thoughtful presents M.D., I loved everything and can’t wait to try the Dandelion Marmalade on toast for breakfast tomorrow!

Now, I have just one little question remaining…
Where can I sign up for the next round of Blogging By Mail??! ;)

Five things to eat before you die...

Perhaps you have already heard about this great meme which is going round invented by Melissa from The Traveler’s Lunchbox, the “Things to Eat before You Die” also known as “The Foodblogger’s Guide to the Globe”.
For this exciting project she asks follow bloggers worldwide, to make a list of their five most amazing, most special, tastiest food experience that they think everyone should once try in their lives. Very happy and honored to be tagged by Aun a.k.a. Chubby Hubby, I’ll now present you MY list of Thing You Must have Eaten At Least Once Before You Die…


1. Ganache truffles
Nothing beats a ganache truffle. I’ve been privileged to have sampled many bonbons and other delicious chocolate creations, from Wittamer to Fauchon, and although these are very outstanding and magnifique, I simply can’t live without ganache truffles. Only a ganache truffle has that ultimately richness and deep, bitter chocolate taste which is so addictive and makes it a thing you’ll definitely have to eat before you die…


2. Laduree’s "Club Champs-Elysées"
Their famous macarons didn’t make the cut; see point 1. plus the fact that I may only list five, but Laduree’s Club Sandwich Champs-Elysées – toast with dried tomatoes, eggplant, grilled courgette, mozzarella, black olives, pine nuts, parmesan and rosemary and basil. Served with a simple mixed salad using very good quality olive oil, and Laduree’s French fries (a.k.a delicious crunchy potatochips…) – certainly did. Sounds maybe a bit strange to go to one of the best chocolatiers and order a sandwich, but try it and I know you’ll agree with me. It’s already a year ago that me and my mum ordered this delicious lunch, we went for my birthday to Paris for a weekend, and Paris was of course amazing. Since then I often think back to it and has it became one of my dearest memories.


3. kruidnootjes (ginger nuts)
Kruidnoten are a Dutch traditional candy and are being eaten for The Saint Nicolas Feast. In October the shops are suddenly loaded with them, even special brands, you can get them fresh from every bakery and behind each display-window you can see pictures from the Saint and his kruidnootjes for the children. It’s every time again special to receive them after a year waiting. These little crunchy cookies are full with flavour and it’s hard to stop eating.



4. my family recipe for oliebollen (doughnut balls)
Oliebollen are being made for the celebration of New Year’s Eve and you eat them with lots and lots of icing sugar. You can make them your self, but almost everyone simply buys them from a street booth. I find this every year again so remarkable; they’re over priced and the quality varies a lot - often they are old, greasy and tasteless. Our family recipe is on the other hand the best; every year we adapt it a little trying to get an even better bunch and we pack them with raisins, apple and citron. They are delicious. It’s a true tradition to make them and I can’t imagine starting the year without them. Of course you’ll find the recipe on January 1st on my blog…


5. The Liquid Lounge’s "Honey and Chili Prawn Skewer" in Puerto Banus, Spain.
Food always tastes better when you’re on holiday but this was without a doubt the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I’ve seriously considered jumping on a plain to go back. We were there on vacation and noticed right away this little, English bar/restaurant with their big leather chairs inside and nice relax atmosphere. It is already some time ago but I can still remember the lovely ambiance and the distinct, different flavors of my dish. The prawn skewer was served with Italian Noodle, peanuts, red pepper and a coriander salad. Sweet, spicy, soft, crunchy, hot, cold…; definitely a deserved spot on the list…


Okay, now it’s time to ask some other people worldwide for their list/experiences and am I supposed to tag again five bloggers, but feel free to join and share your list as a comment, I’m really curious for the outcome…!


- Anne from Anne’s food – Stockholm
- Mary from Alpineberry – San Francisco
- Nicky and Oliver from Delicious Days – Munich
- Jocelyn from KUIDAORE – Singapore
- Gilly from Humble Pie – Canada