Brownies Marina’s Cantina

These brownies cause people to love you. They take about six minutes to make once you get the recipe in your head, and there’s no mess! Ideal for carrying to parties, they never never fail. Here is the recipe doctored for the UK, for an 8" square pan. Below it, the original 13" take-to-literary-readings recipe.

Preheat oven to 350º (gas mark 4)

Melt in a medium saucepan:

120 gm Becel (or any non-hydrogenated margarine – better than butter in this recipe unless all brownies will be eaten warm, within about two hours of baking. Then butter is better.)
1/3 cup cocoa

Stir till smooth. Take off the heat and add:

200 gm sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Beat vigorously until all the egg is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stir in, just until there are no streaks of flour remaining,

1/2 teaspoon baking powder (or use self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and salt)
1/2 teaspoon salt
60 gm flour (80 gm if you like a more cake-like brownie)

If you like nuts, you can add 75 gm chopped walnuts or pecans in the last stir.

Pour into a buttered 8” pan. Bake 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from the side of the pan.

Cool, then ice with fudge icing.


Fudge Icing

Put the kettle to boil first of all, you need boiling water to make the icing glossy. This makes a very thick icing for the 8" pan, you might have to ask someone to lick the pot, like the cat in the fable.

Melt 160 gm butter (NOT becel) in a small pot
Add 75 gm cocoa and stir till smooth.
Stir in 300 gm icing/confectioners/powdered sugar and beat till smooth as possible, making a thick paste. You might need a little more icing sugar, it should be getting towards stiff.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, then dribble in boiling water: first 1 tablespoon, then 1 teaspoon at a time, beating till it’s glossy and the consistency of fudge. If it seems oily, try adding a little more boiling water. Spread on brownie immediately, it hardens pretty fast.


Canadian/US recipe, 13" pan

Brownies Supremo

Preheat oven to 350º

Melt in a medium saucepan:

1 cup becel
2/3 cup cocoa

Stir till smooth. Take off the heat and add:

2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs

Beat vigorously until all the egg is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stir in, just until there are no streaks of flour remaining,

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour, dipped not sifted, or 1 1/4 c if you want them more cake-like

If you like, you can add 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans in the last stir.

Pour into a buttered 13 x 9 pan. Bake 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from the side of the pan. Cool, then ice with fudge icing.


Fudge Icing

Put the kettle to boil first of all, you need boiling water.

Melt 2/3 cup butter in a small pot
Add 1/2 cup cocoa and stir till smooth.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups icing sugar and beat till smooth as possible. You might need a little more icing sugar.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, then dribble in boiling water 1 teaspoon at a time, beating till it’s the right consistency and glossy like fudge. If it seems oily, try adding a little more boiling water. Spread on brownie immediately, it hardens pretty fast.