1. Taken from: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1223/bestever-brownies
I am afraid we are in the middle of a chocolate obsession in Lotherton Class. I have found this delightful
looking recipe for super chocolately brownies. In class, this week, we have been identifying word classes
in recipes as well as, making some delicious Fridge Cake.
For this piece of homework, I would like the children to identify the following word types: imperative
(bossy) verbs, adverbs, nouns, adjectives and prepositions. You can either, write them in a list, underline them in the text
but, make sure you create a key if you do or, both! Do as much, as you think is reasonable for your child to do.
HELP! If you, or your child, need a reminder of the meanings of the word types here you go:
Imperative verbs are also known as Bossy verbs because they tell you what to do. We put imperative verbs at the beginning
of a sentence, which automatically changes them into commands or actions that must be done.
An adverb is a word that describes a verb (an action or a doing word).
Common nouns are the names of things, for example, people, places or objects. A proper noun is the name of a particular
person, place or thing, and always begins with a capital letter.
An adjective is a word that describes a noun (the name of a thing or a place).
A preposition is a word that tells you where or when something is in relation to something else, for example: after, before,
on, under, inside and outside
Best-ever Brownies
Cooking time
Ready in 1 hour, inc cooling (worth every minute)
Skill level
Moderately easy
Servings
Cuts into 16 squares or 32 triangles
A foolproof recipe for squidgy cake squares, studded with extra chunks of chocolate for extra decadence.
Ingredients
185g unsalted butter
185g best dark chocolate
85g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
50g white chocolate
50g milk chocolate
3 large eggs
275g golden caster sugar
Method
1. Cut 185g unsalted butter into smallish cubes and tip into a medium bowl. Break 185g best dark chocolate into small
pieces and drop into the bowl. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top so it
rests on the rim of the pan, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted,
stirring occasionally to mix them. Now remove the bowl from the pan. Alternatively, cover the bowl loosely with cling film
and put in the microwave for 2 minutes on High. Leave the melted mixture to cool to room temperature.
2. While you wait for the chocolate to cool, position a shelf in the middle of your oven and turn the oven on to fan
160C/conventional 180C/gas 4 (most ovens take 10-15 minutes to heat up). Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a
square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base. Now tip 85g plain flour and 40g cocoa powder into a sieve held
over a medium bowl, and tap and shake the sieve so they run through together and you get rid of any lumps.
2. 3. With a large sharp knife, chop 50g white chocolate and 50g milk chocolate into chunks on a board. The slabs of
chocolate will be quite hard, so the safest way to do this is to hold the knife over the chocolate and press the tip down
on the board, then bring the rest of the blade down across the chocolate. Keep on doing this, moving the knife across
the chocolate to chop it into pieces, then turn the board round 90 degrees and again work across the chocolate so you
end up with rough squares.
4. Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed,
whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes, depending on how
powerful your mixer is, so don’t lose heart. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double
its original volume. Another check is to turn off the mixer, lift out the beaters and wiggle them from side to side. If the
mixture that runs off the beaters leaves a trail on the surface of the mixture in the bowl for a second or two, you’re
there.
5. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Plunge the
spatula in at one side, take it underneath and bring it up the opposite side and in again at the middle. Continue going
under and over in a figure of eight, moving the bowl round after each folding so you can get at it from all sides, until the
two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown. The idea is to marry them without knocking out the air, so
be as gentle and slow as you like – you don’t want to undo all the work you did in step 4.
6. Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture, shaking the sieve from
side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold in this powder using the same figure of eight action as before. The
mixture will look dry and dusty at first, and a bit unpromising, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end
up looking gungy and fudgy. Stop just before you feel you should, as you don’t want to overdo this mixing. Finally, stir in
the white and milk chocolate chunks until they’re dotted throughout. Now your mixing is done and the oven can take over.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into
the corners of the tin and paddle the spatula from side to side across the top to level it. Put in the oven and set your
timer for 25 minutes. When the buzzer goes, open the oven, pull the shelf out a bit and gently shake the tin. If the
brownie wobbles in the middle, it’s not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes until the top has a
shiny, papery crust and the sides are just beginning to come away from the tin. Take out of the oven.
8. Leave the whole thing in the tin until completely cold, then, if you’re using the brownie tin, lift up the protruding rim
slightly and slide the uncut brownie out on its base. If you’re using a normal tin, lift out the brownie with the foil. Cut
into quarters, then cut each quarter into four squares and finally into triangles. These brownies are so addictive you’ll
want to make a second batch before the first is finished, but if you want to make some to hide away for a special
occasion, it’s useful to know that they’ll keep in an airtight container for a good two weeks and in the freezer for up to a
month.
