life altering reading: the hummingbird bakery cookbook

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chocolate brownies

I read Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner a few months ago. It was such a tear jerking, soul wrenching story, so far from the usual trash that I read (chick lit, Steig Larsson, The Twilight Saga! Eeek!), that it moved the emotionally stunted mountains within me. I don’t even know what it is, I mean it’s not like I relate to the protagonist, god my life is brilliant-cut 5-carat diamond compared to his, but you know a book has changed made a dent in your life when it makes you want to be a better person.

Or eat a brownie.

I don’t think it’s easy to become a better person. You’d need a good deal of humility knocked into you, substantially more than the heart strings pulled by a fictional story. Spending time in a war torn country, experiencing the loss of life, love and innocence first hand. The desperate need of children who don’t know where their next meal will come from, or their next hug. But even that’s not really the same is it, because at the end of the day we hop on a plane and we’re back in our lives, sheltered from the terror that is someone else’s reality.

…..

Heavy.

Sorry!

Anyway to do my bit for Afghanistan (because I’m supporting an Afghan author who well, he moved to California 30 years ago but he’s still an Afghan!) I bought Khaled Hosseini’s next book A Thousand Splendid Suns a couple of weeks ago. It’s another doozy of a story, about life, loss, pain and endurance. I was just getting into the book when this thing called The Birthday rolled around and my friend Christine (sister of Karen Cheng) bought me The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.

GODAMMIT CHRISTINE (but how I love you!).

Guys, honestly, forget the New York Times Bestsellers list, you need not ever ever purchase another book. Because this one will make you want to change your life. It will make you want to be a better person. And it show you the way.

I’ve changed. I really have. I want to be a baker, I want to bake scrumptious everythings! And I started with the chocolate brownie.

Chocolate brownie
200grams dark chocolate, roughly chopped
175grams unsalted butter
325grams caster sugar (I know, that’s a lot)
130grams plain flour
3 eggs
Icing sugar to decorate
a 33 x 23 x 5cm baking tray lined with greaseproof paper
  1. Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F (Gas 3).
  2. Put the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Leave until melted and smooth.
  3. Remove from heat. Add the sugar and stir until well incorporated. Add the flour and stir until well incorporated. Finally stir in the eggs and mix until thick and smooth.
  4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and bake in preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until flaky on the top but still soft in the centre. Be careful not to overcook otherwise the edges will become hard and crunchy. Leave to cool completely before dusting with icing sugar.
Makes about 12 portions
Posted in: Eating In, Foodie, Recipes

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