If there is one thing that you’d love about the recipes that Chef Jill Sandique shares with baking enthusiasts across the country (and beyond!), it is that she always makes things easy to follow. No fuss, no complicated steps. Just simple, straightforward recipes that turn out delightful bites you’d love to bake time and again.
Here is an example of her simple, no-fuss recipes – Brownies – which she baked to calm her nerves after the Magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Mindanao recently. Although Sarangani was the hardest hit, Chef Jill’s hometown, Makilala, Cotabato, strongly felt it and all of its aftershocks after. Baking batches of these Brownies kept her calm and composed.
These brownies are good, and if you drop small spoonfuls of peanut butter or cookie butter on top of the brownie batter just before baking, they become even more rewarding.
Innobake Brownies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Innobake Premium Cocoa
2 tbsps. Innobake Black Cocoa
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsps. light corn syrup or glucose, optional
5 large eggs, at room temperature
5 ml. vanilla extract
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease and flour a 9×13-inch (23×33-cm.) pan. Set aside.
2. Sift together premium and black cocoa, flour, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and light corn syrup or glucose at low speed just until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix well.
4. At low speed, fold in sifted dry ingredients. Blend well. Do not overmix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until done. Cool completely.
Yield: 32 to 48 pieces.
*Chef’s note: You may fold in some Patissier or Cacao Ivory chocolate chips or chunks (white, milk, and/or dark chocolate), as well as some chopped nuts before baking.