Dulce de leche brownies

Remember the dulce de leche I made in this post??? While eating spoonfuls of it, I've also been thinking of other ways in which to use it up. That is when I saw this eggless brownie recipe of Divya's. I decided to make it with one major change.....a whole cup of dulce de leche went into my brownie.....and I must say this is one of the best brownies I have ever made. It turned out soft, chewy and just right.....even a non-chocoholic like me cannot stop eating it.

What you need:
Maida/all purpose flour - 1 cup
Fresh curd - 1 cup
Milk - a ladleful (if needed)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Dulce de leche - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1.5 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Cashew - a handful

Take curd in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, baking powder and baking soda to it. Let it bubble for a minute or two. Now add vanilla essence and oil to this. Mix well. Slowly stir in the maida and cocoa powder little by little to make a smooth, lumpless batter. Add the dulce de leche and mix well, breaking lumps if any with the back of a spoon. If you find that the mix is too thick, add milk. I had to add a ladleful of milk at this point. Stir in the cashew nuts.
Bake at 200 degree centigrade for 10 minutes....then reduce the temperature to 150 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes or till done.
Grease a square Let the brownies cool completely.
Slice and dig in.

This goes to Divya who is hosting the Best Brownie event to celebrate her third blog anniversary.

Dulce De Leche

I just made dulce de leche(pronounced duel-say-day-lay-che)......and ate quite a few spoonfuls before sitting down to do this post. I can't believe that something that tastes so good is so easy to make. When I saw Divya's post on Dulce de leche, I knew that this is something I would try out. Only thing is, her statement about the possible danger of can burst had me scared. So I did some googling and found that the principles of physics say that there is absolutely no way for an air tight can to burst under pressure. Armed with this knowledge, I ventured to make this.

What you need:
Condensed milk - 1 tin (I used Nestle Milkmaid)
Pressure cooker
Water - enough to cover the condensed milk tin and then some more

This is so simple, I feel silly typing out a recipe. Just immerse the can in plenty of water. Close the pressure cooker. When you see steam escaping from the vent, put on the weight. Wait till one whistle. Then turn the heat to low and let it cook for 30-35 minutes. Switch off heat. Once the steam has escaped, remove the tin from the cooker. It will still be very, very hot.....so be careful. Now comes the T.O.U.G.H.E.S.T part......you have to wait until it cools down to room temperature and that is a lo..........ng wait.

Once it cools down, open the can.....and enjoy by the spoonfuls.