There is the Gordon Ramsay that we all know too well. The Gordon Ramsay that we instantly think of when we hear his name: the loud, somewhat obnoxious, scary man who seems to be seeping unearthly levels of anger. We often see him on our screens yelling and liberally throwing the F-word around at people who are fluttering about under scrutiny with fear, desperation and frustration in their eyes. His rough, vulgar and aggressive approach makes for good television... I guess.
Then there is the version of Gordon Ramsay that emerges when he's describing food. I call this version the Food Romancer. Have any of you realized that the way Gordon talks about food is almost too sensual? He speaks delicately, with a soft voice and by adding a few sighs here and there. He can describe a piece of raw chicken with the same adjectives and in the same way he could describe a lady. Buddy, it's food. We understand that you love food; we all love food! But maybe your relationship with it has gone too far. He may call it passion, but I just call it weird.
If I have control of the remote at home, Mr. A and I often watch reruns of FRIENDS; if Mr. A has control of the remote, "we" watch sports; and when we're both looking for a happy medium, the Food Network wins the prize.
A few weeks ago, we were watching Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery (also known as the ultimate television show for him to wear his ''romancing'' hat). As we were watching, I heard an ''Oooohhh'' from Mr. A followed by a sound that I can only describe as ''taking his breath away''. It is not often that Mr. A and I watch a cooking show to which Mr. A's jaw literally drops and stays open throughout the recipe. Gordon was making blondies: a fun twist on brownies. Based mainly on Mr. A's reaction (and not by the way Gordon was romancing the ingredients), I knew I had to make it.
We were having a little family get-together a few days after seeing this episode so, very conveniently (because I love to share calories as much as I love to share food), I knew it was my opportunity to try this recipe.
All I can say is, vulgar or romancer, Gordon Ramsay can cook!
So here it is. Gordon Ramsay's recipe for Blondies. The recipe that will make you wonder how you have lived thus far without these amazing sweet bites. Similar to my relationship with Gordon Ramsay, you may have a love(or like)/hate relationship with these blondies: you will hate that you love them so much.
Ladies & gentlemen, you will soon realize that you just may prefer blonds.
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| Blondies in the making |
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Ingredients
- 230g butter, plus extra for greasing- 340g dark brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 280g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 240g white chocolate, chopped into small chunks
- 4 tbsp dried cranberries
Directions
1- Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 23cm square cake tin and line with parchment paper.2- Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the sugar and salt. (A good whisk now will make the mixture slightly lighter and fluffier.)
3- Add the vanilla extract and whisk again. Remove from the heat.
4- Add the eggs to the butter mixture and stir well. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl, then whisk in the egg and butter mixture a little at a time. (It’s important to do this in stages so that you don’t get any lumps.)
5- Leave the mixture to cool slightly, then fold in the chocolate chunks and the cranberries. (If the mixture is too hot, the chocolate will melt.)
6- Spoon into the prepared cake tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 35–40 minutes until the outer edges are firm and the middle still a little soft.
7- Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, then cut into squares before serving. Once cooled, the blondies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week (but trust me, they won't last that long).
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| The infamous blondies. The picture does not do it justice. |
