Peppermint Brownies

Chocolate Brownies

Welcome back sun, all is forgiven. I love the sun, we don't know each other well given that i grew up in Scotland. People reminisce of long hazy childhood summers, i remember getting a tractor to school after being snowed in on the farm. Did earn me a little kudos though, useful when bartering playtime treats. The weekend incorporated some of my favourite things; food, the world of vintage & family. Mr & Mrs Robinson were down which was fun as always. We headed to Vintage at South Bank &amp an eclectic mix of 1920's -1980's clothing, jewelry, homeware, sewing bits, Cream Teas & 50's style makeovers. So much fun & i could have lost myself for hours. The stall holders were all die hard vintage fans, & it was evident that they rock the look full time. I added to my scarf collection with some rather natty choices, the Houseboy sadly doesn't share my love of second hand items, doubt i will be getting him into a vintage velvet smoking jacket any time soon.

Being on the South Bank it would have been rude not to have swung by Borough Market for lunch. Sooooo many options though , it was a toss up between delicious looking Green Thai Curry & Duck Rillet Sandwiches. The duck won & i have to say it was epic... although it must have been at least 3 spin classes worth of calories (such a dirty word) Bah, a moment on the lips & a lot of happiness i say. The evening found us in central London celebrating the engagement of friends. Always happy to celebrate love & perfect matches it was a lovely evening of chilled prosecco, canapes & banter. The venue was a new one for me. The Burlington Arms on Old Burlington Street is an intimate & cosy pub which works very well for private hire. 

Sunday i did what all Scottish girls do in sunny weather. Headed to the park with not a jot of sun cream on, lay reading on my tartan rug & then expressed surprise when i turned the colour as raw steak. A lesson i fear i will never learn... The Houseboy, despite being raised under the Australian 'Slip, Slap, Slop' policy is also a suncream dodger. When we met sailing in Croatia (romantic huh?) he proudly stated he was rocking the 'neopolitan' look... white, pink & brown. I didn't let that put me off. Next weekend we are heading off to Switzerland (very very excited) to do some outdoor pursuits, drink beer & work on our yodelling. I have a head start on that one. I have watching the Sound of Music more times than is strictly healthy. I will be stocking up on factor 50 & wearing an ankle to neck sun suit. (stay tuned for the failure of that venture)

I know that i have already covered Brownies, but i have been craving brownies for days & fancied doing some experimenting on flavour & texture. It was a toss up between mint or pistachios & given that Mrs Robinson bought me some chocolates this weekend & i didn't have any pistachios, hey presto peppermint brownies. They are intensely rich & minty. It's pretty hard to stop at one. The bones of this recipe is a Stephanie Alexander recipe from her cook book The Cooks Companion a fantastic book with a great variety of recipes & suggestions. It was a lovely gift from the Phillip's & Jordan's high praise of her skills is well deserved. As he says 'Stuck? Just ask Stephanie'. The only change i have made is the bendict bittermints (my very most favourite chocolates in the world) in place of 120g of dark chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 180g unsalted buter
• 3/4 cup coco powder
• 1 1/2 cups castor sugar
• a few drops of vanilla essence
• 4 eggs lightly beaten 
• 100g plain flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 5 bendict bittermints chopped up

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160c. Line a 20cm x 30cm with baking paper & set aside. Melt the butter & mix in the coco powder. Add the eggs, vanilla & sugar, mix in gently & then add the remaining ingredients. Pour into the prepared tins & bake for 20-25 minutes. (i have to say that my batch took nearer 45 minutes for some reason so be prepared) until firm on top. Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into squares. Then eat them all before other people do, because these little gems will fly!

My beautiful new measuring cups