Milo Pound Brownie Cake

"You're almost there. 2.8km", the board writes.

We glanced at one another amongst our group, as if a ritual before the war. It wasn't a question, really, nor a suggestion. We knew we had to start running. 

From our relaxed attitude, it was obvious this wasn't our first run. Run the first 0.2km, then, run the last 0.4km and run whenever a teacher is at sight. Those were the rules. And from experience, be aware that a teacher jogs along with the very last runner.

But here's the catch. At the end of the 3.2km race, you'd be offered a cold cup of Milo and a long queue to the loo.

This was how Milo came into a hormonal-pimpled-rebelious-teenager's life who now has owwies in her teeth because she sleeps with a spoonful of milo-slash-nutella in her mouth.

The name is Milo. I am beautiful chocolate and ovaltine malty made better. I taste best when half-sticky or coating the surface of cold milk.

Brownie Layer Cake with Chocolate Pudding and Caramelised Almond Flakes

I wanted a full head-on brownie, the best brownie ever. Dark. Bitter. Heavy. Chocolatey. But more than the usual "slice of brownie".

Interesting fact me #1: 

I often talk to myself, "this goes here, that goes there". Of course, not loudly (that would be crazy). But the hand gestures seem to freak people out. 

Interesting fact me #2: 

I am 96.125% sure if people know what's going through my head, I'll be killed within the amount of time it takes for people to gather around, holding torches, chanting "die! die! die!" (because that's the fun way of killing someone).

You see, folks, I love my "I-can-eat-everything-i-want" days. Usually followed by moments when I was pleased with Mister Scale-o, or after days when I succeeded to lay off the Kettles chips. But also because brownies is Mr's favourite! And the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

Interesting fact me #3:

Whenever I giggle for more than 10 seconds, i would have a hard time stopping. This could go on for minutes even hours. And it tends to happen when I have something in my mouth. I'm a sprayer!

B-back to the brownie. Since i have the day off to  eat whatever I want, I wanted cake! Of course, nothing new there. But what could go well with those bitter, dense brownies? What could make brownies even more salivating than it already is? Something smooth. Velvety. Sweet. Light. Something that speaks the epitome of comfort.

Interesting fact #4:

I am very afraid of animals. All kinds of them. Even Hamsters.

 Interesting fact #5:

 I appreciate the gesture and effort of a gift more than the gift itself. Doesn't matter if it was a vintage $5 spoon or a $1000 DSLR. 

Puddings! Gooey dark brownies with sweet milky puddings. Love is on the plate. Of course, when there's so much in a bite, I always like to add a little extra topping to set it on the go. Caramelised Almond Flakes!
Interesting fact #6:

Sometimes my body refuses to go back to sleep after 3 am. Occasionally, it needs to bake something.

Interesting fact #7:

I think I'm a closet dancer (gasp!).

Hence, Brownie Layer Cake with Chocolate pudding and Caramelised Almond Flakes was born.

S'mores Pistachio Brownies

Its Chinese/Lunar New Years soon. Office in Chinatown = Craziness. I'm not a big fan of crowds, queuing, waiting, or standing up actually. But for one reason, I part the red sea. There it was, with its dark and thick scent of nutty sweetness roasted in black coal pebbles. It's chestnuts. Tis the season of chestnuts! And right beside them are these beautiful green gems. Pistachios. Tis the season of pistachios!

Indeed. Chinese New years bring out the best of snacks. We spend the past month (after christmas and new years) losing the extra pounds to fit in a chinese traditional dress only to gain two-fold of the weight back. Just to be safe, get a bigger Cheong Sam.

The roasted chestnuts didn't make it and i had to keep the pistachios away from the crazy wolves. Hence, whilst dreaming the day I can have a traditional campfire desert, I decided to bake up some s'mores (brownies style), with pistachios of course.

Brownies - Birthday Post

Growing up, I've never spent a birthday without being in tears. The day is always full of self-pitying and self-self-self. By the time I reached 18 years old, I despised it. I hated making a big thing out of such a day.With facebook and iCloud and iCal, there are hundreds of people to wish birthdays to. Birthdays are no longer as "special" as it seems. 

Out of the 500 friends you have on facebook, how many times do you actually wish "Happy Birthday" genuinely? But even then, I still couldn't comprehend, why people thrive their hardest to make someone else's birthday so special. What if you don't get the similar effort in return? What if you end up being alone in the bathroom, in tears? 

Being such an extremist about this subject came with consequences. I was bound to be proven wrong. And I was. As though my whole view of birthdays were crushed. All of a sudden, I could comprehend, staying up for hours into the dawn to complete a project, taking out ingredients before the rooster's crow to bake. (Of course there was no roosters involved). But this goes to show that... there ARE people, you would be irrational for. Their smiles are already a sufficient gift in return. So, Happy 20th  Birthday to Yz! Thank you for being the person you are. I truly hope that I will not miss your next birthday and the birthdays to come. I wish that you stay smiling always :)

Now, onto the recipe. Many people love brownies. If they were any less sinful, it would be our staple food. However, there are a few types of brownies. Fudgy, Cakey and Chewy. You can tell from these pictures, the recipe I played around with resulted in a cakey/chewy type of brownies. However, there's good news. If you want it fudgy, just take them out of the oven earlier. However, if you want to go all out fudgy, I reckon you look for a different recipe :) (Personally, I'm the chewy type of brownie girl).