Preheat oven to 350˚. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or lightly-greased aluminium foil
To make the topping, combine all the dry topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend. Gradually stir in the melted butter, mixing in with a large fork or spatula. When all the butter has been incorporated and the mixture looks like wet sand, squeeze small clumps together to make large crumbs ranging in size. Set aside.
To make the cake, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Mixing at a low speed, alternately add in the flour and the sour cream in two or three additions and mix until no streaks of flour remain.
Fill the pan with half the batter, sprinkle some of the topping overtop. Then pour the rest of the batter and top with the rest of the topping.
When I woke up today, snow was falling thickly in the gardens and the roofs and the windows and the streets! It made me very happy as we did not have a single flurry this Winter. And, I wasn’t alone; from my window I could see little children giddily going to school, trying to catch snowflakes and imagining the snowmen they would build at recess! I think this impromptu Winter Day is the perfect occasion to indulge in those beautifully Crunchy Fudgy Brownies (I took inspiration from The Simple Things’s Ultimate Fudgy Brownies but added a bit of a crunch to it with nuts, cereals and seeds!) Whether you stay cosily inside, or go for a vivifying walk in the white powder; these are a wonderful treat to indulge in! Happy Friday!
Ingredients:
5 whole walnuts
¼ cup hazelnuts
150 grams/5.30 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
100 grams/3.5 ounces unsalted butter
150 grams/5.30 caster sugar
2 eggs
25 grams/0.90 ounces plain flour
30 grams/1 ounce unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon quinoa crispies
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes, plus more for sprinkling
½ tablespoon pumpkin seeds
Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F. Butter a square or rectanglular brownie tin, and line with baking paper; set aside.
Crack open the walnuts, and gently remove the halvesfrom the shells, so you have ten halves.
Toastwalnutsandhazelnutsin a small frying pan over a high flame until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and transfer to a small plate; set aside.
In a medium bowl fitted over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt dark chocolate withbutter until silky. Stir in caster sugar, and remove from the heat. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
Break in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Then, whisk energetically for about 3 minutes, until mixtureis smooth and shiny (this is an excellent arm workout, too!)
Sift in flourandcocoa powder, and gently fold in with a spatula. When almost all the flourandcocoaare folded in, add toasted walnutsandhazelnuts,quinoa crispies andfleur de sel. Fold in until just blended and no white spec of flourremains.
Pourbatterinto prepared tin, and level the top with the spatula. Sprinkle liberally with pumpkin seeds and a pinch of fleur de sel.
Bake at 180°C/355°F, for 20 minutes, until the middle is just set and the edges are a bit cracked. Remove from the oven, and let cool for as long as you can wait (at least half an hour) before cuting into a dozen squares.
