Easy Dense Fudgy Brownies

Two chocolate dessert posts in one day? Yes, I'm that awesome!
I've been meaning to post this recipe for the longest time. I have tried and tested it to perfection, and I can now proudly present you with my absolute favorite brownie recipe of all time.
The recipe below makes a small pan, but can be doubled to yield a bigger pan.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter/raw coconut oil
• 1 cup sugar/1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp instant coffee
• 2 eggs
• A dash of vanilla powder/ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup flour

 
Steps:

1. Preheat oven at 180° c. 
2. In a double boiler, add chocolate & butter. Whisk until completely melted.
3.  Add sugar and instant coffee, and whosk away.
4.  Remove from heat. Add each egg separately, whisking each until incorporated. Add vanilla with the second egg.  
5. Add flour & cocoa powder, mix with a spatula.  
6. Grease a very small square/rectangular pan, 20*20 max., and dust it with cocoa powder instead of flour. Pour the (scrumptious) batter in. Tap the pan lightly a couple of time on a hard surface to get rid of any bubbles.  
7. Stick it into preheated oven for 35 minutes. Let cool before cutting and serving. 
8.  Best served with a smile and lots of love. :) 

Cheat Dessert: Zebra Cake

Hello lovelies,

Well, it's been a while since I last posted something on the blog. I've been bad! Work and housework combined are not really my cuppa tea. Anyway, I chose something fun, though not very "fit", as a comeback; Zebra Cake. There's nothing special about it except that it has a zebra pattern all through, which makes it pretty self-decorated. It's very impressive and looks like a ton of work. It is kind of a hassle, but very basic and needs absolutely zero skills. I assure you it would be a lovely crowd-pleaser and you'll be asked to do it on birthdays.
I first saw Lorraine Pascale do it, and was blown away. It took me a long time to pluck up the courage and do it, but it was definitely worth it. If you're on a healthy lifestyle like me, it would be a nice monthly or fortnightly treat , if you've got a lot of people around to finish it for you. I repeat, do NOT have your cake and eat it too, by yourself!


I used sugar substitute instead of sugar, but you can definitely use regular sugar. I use IsoSweet, which is an Egyptian fructose aspartame-free sugar substitute. It has two kinds; one for drinks and cold desserts, and another for baking. I used the baking kind here. You can definitely use any equivalent of choice, just make sure it's aspartame-free.
I also used unsweetened cocoa in the recipe, but you're free to use the sweetened kind if you wish, or just increase some sugar.

You'll need:

-2 cups sifted flour
-3 heaping tbs cocoa powder (I used raw unsweetened cocoa)
-1 cup sugar substitute/sugar
-4 eggs
-1/2 cup oil (I used heated coconut oil)
-1/2 cup milk (skimmed)
-1 vanilla sachet (1 tsp vanilla extract)
-1 baking powder sachet (15-16 g)
-1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Using an electric mixer or food processor, beat the eggs with the sugar until sugar is almost dissolved completely.
-Add oil, and continue beating.
- Add milk and salt and continue beating until frothy and pale yellow.
- Take 3 tbs off the four and set aside. Now your 2 cups flour are minus 3 tablespoons.
- Start adding the flour gradually and mixing till all is incorporated in the batter with no visible white streaks.
- Add the baking powder last and mix in using a wooden spoon or a spatula, not the mixer/food processor.
- Now divide the batter into 2 equal parts in two separate bowls. On one half, add the 3 tablespoons of cocoa and mix in with a spatula till well-incorporated in batter.
- On the "white" half, add in the 3 tbs of flour that you set aside. Mix in with a spatula.
- Your cake batters are ready.
- Prepare a 20-cm baking pan by lightly brushing with coconut oil/cooking spray/margarine then lightly sprinkling flour to coat it all, and finally getting rid of excess flour.
- In the center of the pan, carefully add 2 spoonfuls of white batter, then in the center of the white spoonfuls, add 2 spoonfuls of brown batter.
- Keep alternating between the white and the brown batters, 2 spoonfuls of each a time in the center of its previous "blob" till the batter is all done.
- Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Leave to cool completely before cutting.

My camera was dead, so I only took this terrible pic with my phone. Sorry! I promise it looked much better than this.