Banana's no substitute for brownie

I opened my Edmonds book last night, looking for something I could bake to put in my lunchbox for morning tea. I ended up choosing coconut chocolate brownies (p62), merely because they looked easy and I had all the ingredients in the cupboard.


For once, the recipe didn't begin with creaming butter and sugar, or rubbing butter into flour - a bit of a novelty! I had to melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in cocoa, then beat in eggs, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Easy, eh?

While I was getting this done, Mum rang. When she heard I was making brownies to have for morning tea, she tried valiantly (but unsuccessfully) to convince me that I shouldn't be in the habit of having baked goods on a daily basis, suggesting a banana instead. Thanks for your concern, Mum, but fruit just doesn't go with my mid-morning Milo.


For one thing, I can't make a banana out of the Edmonds book.

I had of course, made an effort to cut down the fat content of the brownie, using canola spread instead of butter. It doesn't magically make it healthy, but it's better than nothing. And don't worry Mum, I do have fruit at lunchtime!

Anyway, I got the brownie mix into a lined tin, and put it in to bake for half an hour. It wasn't quite cooked, so I bunged it in for another five minutes, after which it was perfect.

When the brownie had cooled a little, I cut it up and had a taste. There's all sorts of different brownies out there, and as a rule, they're all pretty tasty. But this one was pretty close to what I personally consider a perfect brownie - soft, light texture, slightly chewy, and, considering there was no actual chocolate in the recipe - just cocoa - it was delectably chocolaty too.


Considering I haven't really been impressed with the other chocolate slices I've made from the Edmonds book, this one was a big surprise - I wasn't prepared for it to be so tasty. Now I just have to exercise a little restraint and not let myself eat it all at once!