Rose & Cardamom Brownies
And another brownie recipe – can one get bored of brownies? Just realised in a moment of panic that friends are calling around after work tomorrow and we have nothing to offer them. The last of the spicy orange brownies have just disappeared! So with only 1/2 an hour to spare a quick recipe is needed and I know that brownies are a firm favourite with said friends.
This is what I’m about to do:
- Melt 100g butter with 100g chocolate and 150g muscovado sugar in a medium sized pan.
- Crush the seeds of 4 cardamom pods and stir into chocolate mixture.
- Beat in 2 eggs.
- Stir in 5og wholemeal flour, 25g ground almonds, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp rose water.
- Pour into a greased 9″ x 7″ pan and bake for 12 mins at 180C (gas 4).
CT couldn’t resist a trial taste. His verdict not enough cardamom and couldn’t taste the rose. Oh well you live and learn. Next time I’ll use 6 cardamom pods and at least triple the amount of rose water. Really for the authentic eastern flavour I should have added pistachios instead of almonds, but I didn’t have any of those. Next time I’ll try harder!
Jenny
27th January 2010 at 11:43 pmI love cardamom in sweet things, these look amazing! If you do give them another go with more spices, let us know how it works out.
Kath
28th January 2010 at 6:42 amWell despite CT’s criticism they look great and I bet your friends will love them. The combination of cardamom and rose water sounds great. Tell them they are ordinary brownies and they will never know – just like I used to call failed Victoria sponges country pancakes before I learned the art!!
Lucie
28th January 2010 at 8:30 amNo, I never tire of brownies! I have never used cardamom in baking, I hear how lovely it is, I must try it.
Chele
28th January 2010 at 7:13 pmThere will never be such a thing as too many Brownies!! These look so moist and delish I can almost taste them from here!
VegBoxBoy
29th January 2010 at 8:45 amI like the way with half an hour pre-guests, you grabbed a quick recipe – instead of popping to the co-op/so-near-so-spa for a packet of digestives.
ps: co-op brownies are surprisingly good.
x
nic @ nipitinthebud
29th January 2010 at 1:08 pmyour brownies always looked so moist. I prefer tiffins usually to brownies because if you have to opt for a drier bake I prefer it to be biscuit loaded ;o) I’d try these though if a plate was near to hand (secretly of course!)
Foodycat
30th January 2010 at 2:47 pmHmmm – I think both cardamom and rose should be approached with caution! You can go from subtle to soap so quickly. Maybe use white chocolate (I know, I know) next time? Cardamom, rose & white chocolate is such a heavenly combination!
Choclette
30th January 2010 at 8:49 pmJenny – cardamom and chocolate is a newly acquired flavour for me and I really like it. On 2nd tasting, I think I probably got the amount right, it was certainly noted with appreciation by friends. Couldn’t taste the rose at all.
Kath – I did get them to guess what was in the brownies. Luckily the cardamom came through – the rose didn’t! I bet your country pancakes were great.
Lucie – Do try cardamom and let me know what you think.
Chele – Trouble is with brownies, they are so easy to make.
VegBoxBoy – Thanks for the co-op tip. Do you think I should try and pull a fast one?
Nic – Tiffen or Brownies? Now you’ve put me in a quandry.
FoodyCat – I think you are quite possibly right. More importantly, you’ve given me a good excuse to try this with white chocolate. Green pistachios would really stand out in a white brownie.
realfoodlover
31st January 2010 at 10:36 amIt’s great to have a recipe like this and to able to rustle something up in half an hour.
I think this needs another title so I can remember that this is the speedy brownie recipe!
(And what a challenge to have uneaten chocolate in the house ready for baking…)
peasepudding
3rd February 2010 at 7:31 amgreat combinations with your chocolate! I see we have the same taste with cardamom & chocolate, I also love the chilli & rose. Love your blog, I will be back for another browse :o)
Choclette
3rd February 2010 at 8:54 pmElisabeth – don’t worry, most brownie recipes are quick. My secret on the chocolate is that I’m not that keen on eating dark chocolate, so can keep plentiful supplies without being tempted.
Peacepudding – thank you for visiting an enjoying my blog. Yes, currently can;t get enough of cardamom and chocolate. Cinnamon is a bit of a passion too though.
Chocolate Cardamom Cappuccino
5th February 2010 at 12:48 pmNow that is a combination I have never tried and it sounds a winner. Cardamom, just a pinch makes all the difference.
Thanks for the lovely comments on my bolg they are much apprecciated
Katkat
5th February 2010 at 12:50 pmI made these yesterday and they were fast moist and absolutely gorgeous, what an inspirational recipe
Choclette
7th February 2010 at 7:20 pmChocolate Cardamom Cappuccino – yes indeed, I think cardamom is a much underrated spice.
KatKat – so pleased you tried this and liked it. Did you change the recipe at all. Would be interested to know if you used more or less rose water.
hopeeternal
9th February 2010 at 4:56 pmI love the scents of both cardamom and rose so these sound great!
I too would like to know if you made them again, what changes you made and if it made an improvement. I have some rosewater which I am keen to try out and have been part of an interesting thread discussion on the Nigella Lawson site. I have seen Rose syrup too which might be another solution for you: I suspect it could be stronger in flavour, though it would be sweeter than rosewater.
So pleased to see you have the Divine book by Linda Collister in your list. It’s always good to support Fair Trade and the recipes are so good! I reviewed it some time ago in my blog:
http://hopeeternalcookbook.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/divine-heavenly-chocolate-recipes-with-heart-linda-collister/ )
hopeeternal
Bridgett
10th February 2010 at 4:14 amThese sounds absolutely decadent! The cardamom sounds wonderful and I will take into advice the need for a little extra. I fear I will not be sharing many of these!
Choclette
15th February 2010 at 6:07 pmHopeeternal – Linda Collister’s book is a great one fair trade is definitely worth supporting. I guess I just needed to add more rosewater, trouble is you don’t know until you try. Thanks to alerting me to the thread on this.
Bridgett – rose and cardamom is a lovely combination. Let me know if you ever make any.