Mint Chocolate Brownies

Mint and chocolate are two things I love together! There were two options I had in mind when it came to making this; the easiest would have been baking the normal chocolate brownies and then making a mint butter cream frosting to go along with OR using actual mint leaves and somehow incorporating them into the mix. The only problem with the latter option was, I didn't know how to go about it. I thought about just chopping it up and mixing it in, but......you can only imagine what that would have tasted like. So I turned to good old google and searched for recipes. The closest thing I found to what I was looking for was this recipe for dessert mint pesto that would then be drizzled on top of the chocolate brownies and baked. That sounded pretty good and it was something I had never heard of. You can view that recipe through this link:



http://www.apinchof.com/mint1072.html



The only problem was when I got to the supermarket the only mint they had was this little pot plant (and half of it was dying), so I had no choice but to revert back to my first thought.



When it comes to making brownies, they're very easy to make, you just have to find the right recipe. I've been baking brownies since I was a kid but let me tell you they've never been as perfect as they are now, after FINALLY finding the best ever recipe (well in my opinion anyway, but if you have any that you would want me to try, feel free to post them up!).



I found my *perfect* brownie recipe through watching the show NZ's Next top home baker, from one of the contestants, Emma (I bet she's going to win the whole competition!).



The link to her recipe can be viewed here:



http://www.tv3.co.nz/0103--BISCUITS-All-Bakers/tabid/986/articleID/62924/Default.aspx



She had a peanut butter component to it that I obviously took out, just to leave it as plain chocolate brownies.  I have tried the recipe with the peanut butter and it tastes amazing! Give that a try too.



I ended up altering bits and pieces of the recipe to this:



170g unsalted butter (it was originally 225g, but just the thought of that gave me a heart attack)

200g dark chocolate

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups plain flour

3/4 cup cocoa



So first preheat your oven to 180C.



Melt your butter and chocolate together in a bowl over simmering water. Do not be tempted to do this straight onto the pan (not unless you actually have done it several times and its worked out perfectly) because it can easily split the chocolate and butter mixture. You want it to look dark and glossy, almost velvet like, not clumpy!



Once these have melted together, stir in the sugar and then the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each.



Add the vanilla.



Sift the flour and the cocoa  in and stir until all is mixed. Pour into 2 lined and greased small baking tins.



Bake for about 35 minutes (I like it when its starting to get a bit flaky at the top, but mind you this doesn't matter so much seeing as you're going to be frosting them).



When it came to the mint frosting, I pretty much did it without following a specific recipe, but the closest measurements I used were:



1/2 cup of butter

3 cups of icing sugar

1 Tbs milk

2 teaspoons of peppermint extract (I like a strong mint flavour, you can just add 1 teaspoon)

1 drop of green food colouring



Mix these all together, the easiest is with a hand mixer but I usually do it with a wooden spoon, just because I hate it when the butter gets stuck in between the metal whisks.



AND to top it all off:



1 cup dark chocolate

5 Tbs butter



Melt these together once again over simmering water.



SO once the brownies are baked and have cooled, frost them with the mint butter cream frosting and then place it in the fridge for about twenty minutes, this just allows for it to harden and not melt when you pour the final chocolate mixture on top. After you do this, place it back in the fridge for another 20 minutes to give the chocolate topping a chance to set.