I was sent a review box of brownies by the lovely Sharon from Devilishly Good Brownies.  She started making brownies and selling them at her sandwich shop and they got more and more popular. She started branching out and is now selling her brownies by mail order.

She has very professional boxes, all custom printed with purple and lovely colourful iridescent grass cushioning the brownies inside.  The experience of receiving these brownies is always going to be a special one. From the gorgeous branded box to the carefully wrapped brownies inside, the experience of just receiving them is special.  Add into that the fact that these brownies are fabulous on their own or heated up means that this is going to be a special gift for anyone.

The brownies are chocolaty and sweet with a dusting of powdered sugar to prevent them getting stuck together (I assume).  There is a double layer of chocolate brownie finger goodness in the box and lots of chocolaty goodness for those who enjoy a dense chocolaty sweet treat. There are chunks of white chocolate and the chocolate is very nicely flavourful.

These brownies are interesting to heat up. If you pop one or two in the microwave and heat them for 20 or 30 seconds, they get this warm gooeyness to them and with a cup of coffee they are absolutely fantastic. I can’t imagine something better besides eating them fresh out of the oven and even then brownies need time to settle to improve. So warm from the microwave or out of the box, these sweet brownies are going to be a treat to receive – just remember to buy a box for yourself.

You can buy these brownies at Sharon’s sandwich shop in Wales or go to her Devilishly Good Brownies website.

I went to Gail’s bakery across the street from Paul A Young and bought myself some of the brownie iterations on offer there. I thought that I’d give them a try. The newest Gail’s bakery is in Soho right across from Paul A Young and so as I was in the neighbourhood buying some choccies I thought I’d try the rival from across the street. Should Paul be worried? Should this new addition using more than one kind of chocolate worry him?

The staff at Gail’s are great. They are full of fun and seem quite enthusiastic. The gentleman who served me spoke about how the chef wanted to change the brownie recipe and he simply would not let him. But that visit is not what I’m writing about. I’m writing about the brownies and flourless chocolate cake Gail’s kindly sent me for review after I contacted them about the brownies I bought.

The four Valentines brownies in a box, each with a single letter was the first thing I tried.  This is a fudgy chocolate brownie with a proper brownie top. These brownies have a moist consistency and are quite nice. The chocolate has a distinctive taste and anyone familiar with the various couvertures will recognise the distinctive flavour notes. The brownies are also quite large – around the size of a BlueBasil brownie – and so it did take me a long time to finish one

The smaller pistachio brownie bites had a completely different consistency. They are more chewy than fudgy and have a much stiffer consistency. The chocolate flavour is quite dark and when shared with the office they were not as decimated as the LOVE brownies were so the office absolutely liked the fudgy brownies more.

The final baked good was an extremely chocolaty flourless chocolate cake. It was HUGE and this was absolutely perfect for the office. The moist centre with a firm outer crust and lack of wheat was perfect for me and I took such a big slice I couldn’t finish it all! The cocoa dusting was the perfect finishing touch for the cake. It didn’t taste particularly nutty and so was the perfect chocolate cake.

All in all these were really lovely baked goods. If I was off to a party I’d definitely buy the flourless chocolate cake as not only was it absolutely massive, it was delicious and so I’d know it would both be a big it and still have enough left over for the hosts.

I love me a good brownie and so I was delighted when Say it With Brownies got in touch and offered me the chance to try some of their brownies.  Of course I didn’t know quite what to expect but I thought, what the heck, lets be adventurous.

Having chosen fudge brownies I knew that I was going to get something very sweet.  It really is inevitable but what I was curious about was other elements of the brownies like would they be cakey or fudgy or chewy.  I have to admit I’m not as much of a fan of cakey brownies and thankfully these are not cakey but moist and fudgy.

The brownies arrived in a box and within the box they are a block of brownies that are half cut through to help you subdivide them into their intended 12 pieces but as they are not all in pieces it makes them easier to handle.  Interestingly they are moderately dusted with sugar before cutting, leaving icing sugar on all sides and top.  Where the cut marks are, the brownie has developed a little more protection for the precious moistness beneath.

The brownie itself is, of course, sweet.  The fudge, a distinctively flavoured addition to the brownie, is generously distributed within each block you cut.  If you are a fudge fan be not afraid as there is a lot of fudge.  I have to admit I thought of fudge box’s fudge and thought of which fudge flavours I might pair with the brownie.

With this brownie you get both edge pieces and middle pieces so no more arguments.  Edge lovers can get their favourite pieces and middle lovers can get theirs.  I am a middle lover, of course but I realise not everyone is.  I also know that most people have a sweeter sweet tooth than I do and I try and keep this in mind when I try things like these brownies.

All in all, these fudge brownies have a lot of fudge all the way through and they are quite sweet.  Because they are not cut completely through before they arrive, they remain as a solid block until you choose to cut a piece off although they are partially cut through to make it easy to also break a piece off if you’re famished. The brownies are quite sweet with the fudge and I am sure that will make them the perfect treat for many people.

I was sent one of these individually wrapped brownies by the lovely woman behind the Just Brownies name. Working in batches, she creates some unique and crazy flavours in her brownies, setting her apart from more traditional brownie makers. Using local Sussex laid eggs & self raising flour (among other things) her brownies are then individually wrapped in plastic for onward delivery.

When I was contacted, I was offered any brownies I wanted. Wanting to choose just one and wanting a representative sample, I opted for the original plain chocolate brownie.

This brownie arrived looking more like a cake bar than a brownie. The long, thick chocolaty brownie almost had a typical crust on top and as you can see there is some aeration in the brownie with some bubbles breaking the surface.

The flavour is very nice but is closer to a dense cake than a brownie which I know is going to be great news to some readers who don’t like my preference for fudgy brownies The brownie is moist with lots of chocolate flavour and the aeration in the body helps give it a slightly lighter body & less dense makeup.

If you prefer your brownies more cake-like than fudgy then I recommend Just Brownies. This was an edge piece so was likely slightly dryer & more cooked but given the aeration of the brownie I’d gamble that they are mostly lighter & cakier and that is going to be a winner for a lot of people.

I really love Bluebasil brownies – they source a lot of ingredients locally here in Oxfordshire and they are as low impact as I think they can possibly be choosing brown card, not white (less chemicals) paper wrapping and packaging (I recycle it), and they use Divine chocolate.  All of this would be pointless if their brownies weren’t also awesome.

For the holiday season, and to prevent the inevitable arguments between my husband and myself, they sent me a whopping NINE BROWNIES for me to review and only sent me four flavours meaning  had enough coffee and tiramisu to share around.  It also meant I had a lovely dinner for a week

You can get 15% off – just order your brownies before Nov 28th, 2011 and add the following code at checkout: 15XMAS11

Tiramisu – I loved this lovely brownie.  It had a distinct coffee flavour but I didn’t quite get brandy though that is no bad thing. The cocoa dusting on the top is light but doesn’t detract at all from the flavour.  The brownie is dense – just the way I like it.

Rudolph Rumnut – there is no way you could possibly ever mistake that is a boozy brownie. Before I bit into the delicious dark chocolate dense brownie goodness, I could absolutely smell the booze.  This is a heavily alcoholic brownie with raisins which I think might be boozy too   It tastes delicious but as I’m not a huge fan of fruit I left them for hubby

Dark Chocolate and Orange – This deeply delicious chocolate has a seemingly sweeter ginger or something as I got a piece and it wasn’t candied but it wasn’t harshly hot.  There is a bit of warming sensation to the brownie but overall it is quite gentle and subtle.  It has a piece of orange and ginger on the top of each square which I love.  It meant when husband raided the box he knew which one to pilfer

Coffee & Irish Cream – I saved the best for last.  Gently boozy but mainly coffee, this delicious dark chocolate brownie is a dense square of deliciousness.  I love how the coffee isn’t too pronounced and not too extreme.  It does build though so as you eat more, you become more aware of the coffee and less aware of the boozy irish cream but it is still there always.  It is a delightful brownie though and one I could eat and eat.

These brownies last around 2 weeks in the fridge… if you can hold off eating them for that long!  I do let mine last because I have so much chocolate in the house

Remember – you can get 15% off brownies for the holidays! Just order your brownies before Nov 28th for delivery by Dec 21st, 2011 and add the following code at checkout: 15XMAS11

I probably shouldn’t have tried these when I was hungry… I probably munched through more of these than I should have.  More brownies, more cookies… really should have shared… I’m sure I should have shared… naaaah!

B-Tempted is actually run by someone who isn’t celiac but simply gluten intolerant.  She used to work as an investment banker but left to start a business she could believe in.  I could say something about making money from money being just too fictional to actually believe in, but I’ll refrain B-Tempted has been creating their range of gluten-free cakes for awhile now and these cookies and brownies were something I spotted at the trade show Lunch! and luckily got a pack of each sent to me.

These packages, as you can already see, do need to be treated sympathetically.  They are a special type of flour and as such they aren’t as indestructible as some other baked goodies.  I was hoping to be able to get some more sexy images to post with the blog but I wasn’t able to get any so you can see what the Royal Mail did to my lovely cookies

Chocolate Chip Shortbread – The bake is excellent and while there is a slightly different flavour to the cookie, this is because of the unique makeup of the ‘flour’.  This shortbread is chunky, thick, crumbly, delicious and just about perfect.  I could not have imagined that something this good could have existed for someone like me with a wheat allergy.

Brownie Bites – This was quite different from what I was expecting. Dry on the outside, these are moister on the inside with an almost nutty flavour from the almond flour.  The chocolate is rich and the brownies pretty much melt in your mouth.  I would happily buy more of these.

As you can see, these do need to be treated sympathetically as they do crumble (as all good cookies do) and so don’t be rough with them but crumbled or whole, it does not matter because these are delicious and as someone who is allergic to wheat I’m thankful people like me finally have something delightfully decent to munch.  The office preferred the Heavenly Cakes I reviewed yesterday to the shortbread but everyone who tried some liked the almond-flavoured brownies. I’ll be buying more and since I had to go find it, here is a link to B-Tempted Stockists

I call these “decadent brownies” because they are extremely chocolaty. I’ve recommended a baking time which gives you a more cakey brownie but just reduce by 3 – 5 minutes for a more fudgy one.

300g unsalted butter

300g dark chocolate – I used a mix but 70% from Green & Blacks is perfect

5 large free-range eggs

450g caster sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour (must not be self-raising!)

1 teaspoon salt

9 Toblerone Minis – 3 white, 3 milk & 3 dark cut into their individual triangles

Preheat  the oven on to 180C

Place 12 muffin cases in a 12-hole muffin tray

In a bain-marie (I placed medium metal mixing bowl over small saucepan half full of water & brought to simmer) I melted the most of the chocolate first slowly then added the butter to melt & mix together.  This is important as if you try and melt this in a pot over direct heat the chocolate will cook & not work in the brownies.  Mix regularly but not constantly. I used my spatula

Next I beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together in another bowl.  Beat well until the creamy mixture coats the back of the spoon

Next, slowly and carefully add the chocolate to the egg mixture with a hand mixer or other electric mixer.

Now sift the flour and salt together into the mixture but use only a spoon or other manual (with your hand) device as otherwise you mix in too much air.

In the bottom of each cupcake paper add a single white chocolate triangle.

Add a single spoonful of mixture.

Add a dark chocolate triangle.

Add another spoonful and a half of mixture.

Top with a milk chocolate triangle.

You will have some mixture left over to make more with!

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes depending on how cakey you wish them.  20 minutes will make it a more fudgy brownie. If you want it more cakey, when you poke a straw in from your kitchen witch it will come out clean.  For fudgy brownies, the straw will come out with some mix still clinging to it.

My husband loves coffee and yet doesn’t like my brownies because they are too rich.  If you’ve tried the brownie recipe I use from Green & Blacks, you’ll know why    So I tried this recipe and it was perfect for him though I had to change the way it was made as the directions were slightly off.

Ingredients:

200 g 70% dark chocolate like Green & Blacks
150 g butter
150 g brown sugar
80 ml heavy cream
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons instant espresso
30 g wheat flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven up to 190C. Place paper cups in a muffin tin or line a square baking pan with greaseproof paper.  The pan should be 20 x 20 cm roughly for the amount of batter we’re making.

2. Pour the water in to the pot for about 3 cm, boil. When the water comes to the fisheye stage, turn down the heat to keep it lightly simmering, put the bowl of chopped chocolate on top so the bowl is not in contact with water. Melt the chocolate slowly and then add the room temperature butter and mix and melt them together.

3. In a separate double boiler, warn the cream slowly and add the instant espresso and stir until it is completely dissolved then remove from heat.

4. Pour the vanilla extract into the cream and whisk gently. Now mix the cream into the butter and chocolate carefully while both are still warm.

5. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar together.  Once the mixture coats the back of a spoon, beat in the chocolate mixture.  Sift in flour and stir thoroughly before pouring into the dish or muffin cups.

6. Put in the oven bake for 15 minutes, if you want it to be a little soft in the middle. Bake about 20-25 minutes, if you want a cakey brownie.

I had the good fortune to be gifted a box of these chocolates by the White Rabbit himself just before he dashed off to some very important date he claimed to be late for.  I scurried back home to try each and every one of these flavours so I could report back on their flavour in miniature size.  These are small and perfectly formed and just right for one person to enjoy.

Hurry Bunny – cinnamon & blueberry compote in a 35% white chocolate – the cinnamon here overwhelms a lot but the blueberry does manage to push its way through.  The brownie is small and around two to three bites in size   The flavours are stable if slightly sweet but I think that this is a fine brownie – but I’m a huge fan of blueberries, cinnamon and brownies

Loony Raspberry – Raspberry and pistachio in a 35% white chocolate – I like this one more than Hurry Bunny I think.  Less sweet but still flavourful, the impact of the raspberry on the brownie is enough that it enhances the flavours.  The pistachios aren’t my fav but they are inoffensive and so overall this is a yummy brownie.

Lazy Rabbit – Bailey’s ganache & walnuts in 40% cocoa milk chocolate – very boozy brownie this! The flavour of the boozy ganache certainly dominates but the sweet milk chocolate and walnuts also come through. This is sweet but anyone with a sweet tooth is going to enjoy biting in to this mushy wonder brownie bite.

Going Bananas – banana and candied ginger in 40% cocoa milk chocolate – I have to admit this isn’t my favourite. I’m not a massive ginger fan but it isn’t too strong in here but the hint of ginger plus banana isn’t a winner for me. The flavours aren’t too strong which some may like but I would have liked slightly more aggressive flavours here.

At this point my laptop seemed to think I was having far too much fun and feeling hungry it ate the rest of my post!  I can only assume that the delightful Sea Salted caramel chocolate brownie was just too much to resist as delicious as it was with the yummy runny caramel and the delicious brownie all enrobed in dark chocolate.  Perhaps it could not allow me to tell you just how lovely it was

The box is filled with delicious delights – six of them which I duly tried and mostly enjoyed.  It is a delicious assortment box and fun to receive.  It is slightly expensive but the use of Valrhona, thick chocolate coating, perfectly formed fillings carefully made and unique moulds.  This is a really unique product and one I’d love to receive (but may not give as I’d keep it for myself!).

There are a lot of chocolate brownies on the market.  It seems like everyone is trying to perfect the ultimate chocolate brownies and while some make lifeless but technically perfect ones, others make less perfect but much more delicious ones.  This is the type of brownie Melt Chocolate makes.  I think they quite possible have too much chocolate in there which accounts for the extreme goeyness!

This brownie is dense and wetly chocolaty with nuts and chunks of chocolate.  Every bite is different and it is squidgy and densely chocolaty and while it lacks the solidity of the Paul A Young brownie, the addition of chocolate chunks for me makes it even more awesome.  Even the nuts are nice and I don’t like nuts in my chocolate 9except for the numerous exceptions including Hotel Chocolat – I know I know!)

There is a delightful crust on the top like a brownie should and the thick dense chocolaty brownie is amazing.  The chocolate is absolutely very good quality and the chinks make a delicious addition.  The nuts are not too frequent for me and overall I think this is absolutely delicious.

I can imagine having access to this brownie more easily would be dangerous as the delicious taste combined with ease of access would mean a much bigger Judith than the larger version currently available (from fine retailers only – limited time offer – non-returnable, non-refundable, must supply own chocolate).  These are just to yummy and I don’t know how to possibly choose between this delightful  brownie and the mud pie – so I won’t!