The Theobroma Brownie

Story of delectable brownies that originated from a small kitchen in Colaba and went on to become a popular delicacy stocked at the famous outlet Theobroma in Mumbai

Brownies are so intertwined with my life that they are a part of me, my identity, my childhood, my youth and my entire adult life. I am sometimes introduced as 'Mumbai's Brownie Queen'…

My brownie history is as much Mum's story as it is mine. It was nearly 25 years ago that Gulzar, a pregnant lady in our building, asked Mum to bake her some brownies. She had lived in America and was craving them again when she was pregnant.

Mum had never eaten a brownie, so at first, she brushed aside the request. After a few gentle reminders, she found a walnut brownie recipe in one of her cookbooks, baked her first batch and delivered them upstairs. Gulzar loved the brownies and ordered them many times after that. Mum started offering brownies to her other customers through her catering business and they loved it too. This was the beginning of the brownie craze that would sweep over our city in the years to come.

As we set out on the Theobroma journey, we knew one variety of brownie (Mum's walnut brownie) was never going to be enough. So, Tina and I set about developing an entire range of brownies.

Our Millionaire Brownie is an adaptation of an English classic, the Millionaire Shortbread. As a young girl, I made Millionaire Shortbread more times than I can remember, often in the middle of the night to share with my best friend Dilly. The crunchy biscuit base of shortbread seemed an unworthy repository for gooey, buttery caramel and a seriously thick layer of chocolate, so I experimented with layering caramel and chocolate over a brownie base. It was an instant hit, and for 15 years, Millionaire Brownie has been one of our most popular creations.

Then there is the Chocolate-Chip Brownie, created for a guest who did not eat nuts. Simple and classic, it eventually dethroned our well-liked Walnut Brownie and reigned supreme for our first decade or so.

When Mum was in London for Tina's first delivery, they made a very chocolatey chocolate brownie, and added chopped chocolate to the batter. This became the Overload Brownie, which today outsells all other brownie varieties available at Theobroma.

My favourite is the Chocolate-Chip Brownie, the simplest brownie that we make but I am a girl who loves the classics. We fold chocolate chips into the batter, which melt in the oven just enough so that you cannot see them but you can taste them when you bite into the brownie.

I'm always looking for new brownie recipe ideas, and find that inspiration comes from the most unexpected places. One time, I was making marshmallows for Rhea, then 4 or 5 years old, one of my most loyal young customers. I put the leftover marshmallow on a brownie base and hey presto, a new brownie was born! We call the Marshmallow Brownie our 'girlie brownie' as it has become a popular way of finishing off a shopping trip among girls of a certain age.

For almost every year that we have been in business, we have run out of brownies in the days leading up to Diwali and Christmas. This, despite the fact that my brownie team works around the clock during this period, with only short naps on the bakery floor.

This success has brought us some heartache too. A former employee met up with our staff and told them that his new employer was setting up a bakery, and was offering double the salary that we were paying. Everyone except Praveen, who heads our brownie team, left to work for the new bakery. They copied our products; they did not even change the names. Last year that bakery shut, proving yet again that there is more to making a good product than good recipes. I believe that recipes are the starting point; good food requires one to put one's soul into it.

I'm often asked what is the secret to baking the best brownie ever. The key is in the baking, not the making. The world is full of brownie recipes and most are very good. The skill is in getting the timing and temperature right and baking it correctly. The difference between a moist, gooey brownie and a dry, crumbly one can be just a few minutes of baking time or a few degrees in temperature. Often, people think that making a brownie is much like a cake. But if you want a nice, gooey brownie, approach it as if you're baking a cookie. The centre of your brownie should be molten, and under-baked by a few minutes as it will continue to cook after it comes out of the oven.

- From the book 'Baking a Dream' written by

Tina & Kainaz Messman published by Harpercollins

Walnut Brownie

Ingredients

Salted Butter 125 grams

All purpose flour 50 grams

Caster Sugar 175 grams

Cocoa Powder 30 grams

Vanilla Essence/Extract 1/2 teaspoon

Eggs 2 large

Chopped Walnuts 50 grams

Method

Heat oven to 165°C.

Grease and line a 6-inch square baking tin.

Whisk together butter and sugar till pale, light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, and continue whisking. Ensure firstegg is fully incorporated before adding the second egg.

Add vanilla.

Sieve flour and cocoa together and fold into egg-butter-sugarmixture.

Fold 25 grams chopped walnuts into the batter.

Pour batter into the prepared baking tin.

Sprinkle remaining 25 grams walnuts on top of the batter.

l Bake in a preheated oven at 165°C for 15 to 20 minutes. Pleasecheck after 15 minutes: the cake tester should come out with 230 Baking a Dream a little batter clinging onto it, but the batter should not be uncooked. Please do not over bake, or the brownie will become dry and crumbly.