Grab a mug and set destination to the microwave. This will deliver an intense chocolatey hit in two minutes flat, using only store-cupboard ingredients.
“Like their key ingredient – chocolate – brownies have a near-miraculous ability to make us feel good,” says Leah Hyslop, author of The Brownie Diaries. “A single bite sends sugar and serotonin racing through the body, ready to patch up confidence or piece together a shattered heart.”
And there’s a brownie for every occasion, as Leah explains: “A brownie can say a lot of things, very easily and very unfussily. It can say I love you; I’m sorry; I’m thinking of you; let’s be friends; are we still friends? There are people who, when looking back over their lives, can identify occasions and events by the clothes they wore, or the music they listened to. I can chart my life in brownies; from the crumbly squares I scoffed in the school canteen, to the everything-but- the-kitchen-sink blondies I inhaled with friends after a break-up. Whatever else is going on in the world, a brownie always makes things better.”
Hear, hear, we say. And with that, our gift to you, straight from The Brownie Diaries and our March issue, is Leah’s recipe for Emergency Brownies. We think one should always have the ingredients in for these, because you just never know when a brownie emergency might occur…
You will need:
3 tbsp self-raising flour
2½ tbsp caster sugar
1½ tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp melted butter or vegetable oil
4 tbsp milk (ideally whole milk)
Handful of milk chocolate chips
To make:
1 Put all the ingredients in a large mug, except for the chocolate chips. Stir together until you have something resembling a batter, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mug. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2 Microwave until set on top – this usually takes between 1 min and 1 min 30 secs (microwaves vary in power, so it’s best to cook this for 1 min, check, then blast again in 30-second increments if needed).
3 Enjoy in pyjamas, on the sofa, perhaps with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Cook’s note: Make sure to use a microwave mug without any metallic decorations, such as a gold or silver trim, as this will spark an emergency of a different variety.
This recipe is featured alongside two others from The Brownie Diaries: Utlimate Fudgy Brownies and First Day on the Job Brownies, beginning on page 82 of the March issue of The Simple Things. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe
