Black, White and Orange Brownie

The traditional dark chocolate brownie is such a winner at home and with friends that I end up making it a little too often. I can see that the creative cook in me is taking a backseat when someone asks me to make dessert and all I can think of is chocolate brownie. So this time, I made my brownie alright, but with a welcome twist.

It’s got white chocolate instead of dark; but since it’s called “brownie”, I retained the brown colour by not eliminating the cocoa bit. What makes this a good deal yummier than the usual is that I’ve also added freshly squeezed orange juice and orange rind to it. The slight bitterness imparted by the orange rind is nicely balanced by the extra sweetness of white chocolate. All in all, the flavours marry well, and I’m glad I’ve found a way of making chocolate brownie more interesting. As though that’s even possible!

Serves: 6-8 people

Prep time: 15min

Cooking time: 35min (includes baking time of 20min)

Cooking tray: 25cm baking tin

Ingredients

Brownie

75g white chocolate shards

175g unsalted butter

300g caster sugar

100g cocoa powder

150g plain flour sifted with 1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla essence

4 eggs, whisked

50g walnuts chopped roughly

Juice of one orange, freshly squeezed

1 tsp orange rind

Icing

50g white chocolate

50ml fresh double cream, room temperature

1 orange peeled and deseeded

3-4 fresh mint sprigs

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C. Line a 25cm baking tin with butter, keep aside.

Whisk 4 eggs in a bowl, add vanilla essence, whisk some more and keep aside.

Heat a non-stick saucepan on a medium flame. Place the butter, sugar and cocoa in the saucepan and stir till the sugar and butter melt. Gently stir, bringing the mixture together till it turns smooth and gooey. Add the sifted flour slowly, folding it in evenly. Remove the saucepan from the flame. Add the whisked eggs (with vanilla essence mixed added to it already) to the cocoa-butter-sugar mix, making sure that the heat of the pan doesn’t scramble the eggs. Work fast, adding the white chocolate shards, orange juice, orange rind, and chopped walnuts to the pan, mixing all ingredients well. Quickly transfer the mixture to the greased baking tin and bake at 190°C in a preheated oven for 20min.

Allow resting time of 30 minutes.

For the icing, melt white chocolate shards on a double boiler till smooth, removing lumps and whisking gently till the chocolate has completely melted. Remove from flame and add double cream, mix well, and quickly pour over the surface of the brownie. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and peeled orange pieces.

Saffron ice-cream with dried figs poached in an orange reduction

I had to make something from the saffron that my husband brought from Kashmir last month; and I didn’t want to do the usual ‘biryani’ or ‘kheer’! So what more interesting that my very own version of the ‘kesar badam’ ice-cream! My version is more of a shrikhand ice-cream with buttermilk as a basic ingredient. This adds a favourable sourness to the ice-cream, making it less rich, and yet soft and creamy. I have slightly changed the flavour profile by eliminating the almonds and adding some cardamom powder instead. It is egg less, and doesn’t require the making of custard; the ingredients are just whisked together and chilled! S-I-M-P-L-E!

It is absolutely necessary that you use saffron strings and not an essence, as the whole flavour quotient of the ice-cream lies in the saffron. Use the saffron sparingly, a little goes a long way! Since the flavours in the ice-cream are so muted, I have done a sweet and tangy orange reduction (fresh juicy oranges are in season) to cut the monotony of the ice-cream. It would be ideal to use fresh figs to poach in the reduction, but dried figs work as well. The fruit neutralizes the sharpness of the orange syrup and adds texture to an otherwise creamy dessert. Every bite should surprise you, shouldn’t it?

I love to mix flavours and textures, and savour food that feels different with every bite! As you play with ingredients and understand the harmony of flavours, you will see what a difference it makes to your dishes. That’s exactly what makes you go back to your favourite restaurant every time and order for the same dish!

I did not use an ice-cream churner to make this ice-cream; instead I just placed the ice-cream in an air tight container in the freezer, removed it every half hour, blended it in the mixer and put it back to freeze again. This will prevent the formation of icicles in your ice-cream giving it the desired creaminess, and the right temperature that won’t make your teeth cry when you take a bite.




Serves: 3-4 scoops
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min (plus the time you need to blend the ice-cream every half hour)

Ingredients
Ice-cream
1 cup double cream
scant ¼ tsp saffron threads, loosely packed
1 ½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup caster sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of cardamom powder
1 tbsp lemon juice, to taste

Orange reduction
½ cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 dried figs

Method
Ice-cream
Bring ¼ cup milk to a slow simmer, take off the heat and add the saffron threads to bloom their flavour. Cool the saffron-infused milk. Keep aside.

Whisk the double cream and buttermilk together. Add the caster sugar, pinch of salt, pinch of cardamom powder and the lemon juice, to taste. Adjust the sugar to your taste if you'd like a sweeter ice cream. Pour into a clean airtight container.

Chill thoroughly, preferably for 2-3 hours for the first time. Once the ice-cream in chilled, remove and churn in a blender every half hour to dissolve the icicles (they will form because of the water content in the buttermilk). Do this 4-5 times or until the ice-cream turns a creamy consistency. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Orange reduction
Punch tiny holes into the figs with a fork. Combine the orange juice, sugar and vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the figs to the pan. Bring just to a boil and reduce, turning the heat down to medium-low. Continue cooking until it thickens and is reduced by about half. The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cooled, serve along with the ice-cream.