Sunday baking

France, morning

It is sunday. And on sunday when I have time, I love baking cakes or cookies. I bake them, taste a piece (or more), and then bring the rest to the office the next day for my colleagues (they all appreciate this a lot!!!!).

This morning I am making brownies. I got this recipe from a German friend of mine, who used to make them either with melted chocolate or with cacao powder. I prefer this second option. A tip from an inexpert chef who loves anyway baking cakes: use the non-sweetened Dutch cacao powder. It is the best for me!!!! I don't like chocolate, I never eat it. But I do love the smell of the Dutch cacao powder and if I prepare my brownies with that, I like them a lot even if they contains cacao....and I love how my apartment smells while I am baking them!

Here the recipe:

- 1 cup (100 gr) butter (I use margarine with no milk, as I am allergic to cow milk products)
- 2 cups (200 gr) sugar
- 2 teaspoon (about 4 gr) vanilla extract
- 4 big eggs
- 3/4 cup (75 gr) cacao powder
- 1 level teaspoon (about 2 gr) of baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 cup (100 gr) flour
- 1cup (100 gr) of chopped walnuts if you like

Heat the oven at 180C. Oil a square cake tin. Melt the butter (margarine) in a pot, and add while mixing sugar, vanilla extract, eggs one after the other. Add the cacao powder, the salt, baking powder and finally the flour and if you want the walnuts. Transfer the dough in the tin, and bake it 30-35 minutes (try with a toothpick if the brownies are ready and not still humid or uncooked inside). Let the brownies cool down, cut them into pieces, and serve it, for example with vanilla ice-cream (but I like them just "natural" without adding anything).

Enjoy them and let me know how they came out. I read that someone even adds instant coffee to the recipe, but I don't know how it works.....