Brownie

Brownie with the crackling crust.

As I don't bake with eggs, I looked for substitutions for the 4 large eggs (squirm!) called for in the recipe. Most often, I just ignore the eggs entirely, [sure the texture is different (read, dense) without the protein (which envelopes the little pockets of air and makes the cake light)] but here they were the only liquid used. I resorted to a combination of yogurt, sour cream, oil and baking powder. Perhaps it was the fat from 3 of the 4 substitutions, the brownie was greasy. Next time it will be water or coffee. The recipe calls for cake flour which I used. Now, cake flour is low on protein and without the eggs, made this a brownie with a very tender crumb. The cracks on the crust made up for the dense texture and excessive sweetness. Will make this again with chocolate bars (this time I used chips) and will go easy on the sugar. I served it with white chocolate ganache. Very nice!

(as I finished off writing, this was playing in my head: MochaChocaLatta ya ya and I see someone else was thinking along the same lines...)

and oh yeah, did I mention I love my new 13" by 9" baking pan?...first the baklava and then the brownie...quite a record there already...

Baklava

Happy Birthday DH! May the new year be as rich and fulfilling!

Mighty pleased, for I battled sheets that tore on me and sheets that stuck on me, yes I'm referring to the much feared, phyllo dough and I prevailed. Behold, the delicious baklava!

Some things to note:

Thawing phyllo dough in the microwave for 60 seconds instead of in the refrigerator or the kitchen, is a great idea.

Go ahead and put that plastic wrapping over the waiting dough and cover it with a damp tea towel (a few drops of rose water in the water does not hurt).

I ran out of the 8 ounces of clarified butter towards the end and resorted to oil. Next time, will have more handy!

I cut the baklava before putting it in the oven (the thought of cutting through fragile, crisp sheets was unnerving).

I see a lot of syrup still waiting to be absorbed. Next time, will try pouring it as soon as the pastry comes out of the oven.

Other flavourings i have read include, cloves and cardamom. And lemon zest and juice for the syrup.