27

biscoff oreo brownies, Clipstone

Food news of the week:

Clipstone to kick off the birthday eats, in all its gamebird glory. My bestie took me to Carlotta, which is next week’s talk! In the kitchen, I’ve been making bars in many forms, birthday nostalgia bringing to mind a wonderfully rich favourite– these biscoff oreo brownies, of which recipe is down below.

Science of the week:

A pioneer of evolutionary psychology has died. Tooby and his wife Lena clarified many tenets of the field, such as how our behaviour is influenced by the experiences of our ancestors. So, we can compare and analyse our patterns based on inherited frameworks. E.g. evolutionary psychology can explain why some individuals are more anxious compared to others– if you come from a culture with a longer history of unpredictability or instability, you may feel more anxious or wary even if you didn’t experience anything anxiety-inducing personally.

Insight of the week:

Sebastian Faulks knows how to speak to the heart, in simple words. Love is not defined by someone’s absence, he clarifies, while he depicts a love story between a young girl Lena and an older man. This is something I’ve learnt, as I turned 27 last Friday– love is not all you need. It’s effort, it’s practicality.

Recipe of the week:

A personal favourite, for reiteration. Still riding on a chocolate wave after chocolate-rich birthday cakes…

Biscoff Oreo Brownies (makes 8 brownies in a loaf tin)

Ingredients

90g butter

100g dark chocolate, chopped

1 egg

½ tsp salt

120g sugar

150g Biscoff spread (crunchy/smooth)

45g all-purpose flour

25g cocoa powder

5-6 oreo cookies

Coarse salt for sprinkling on top

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line a loaf tin with parchment paper. You can also do this in an 8×8-inch square tin. Put the chocolate and butter into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments on high until everything has melted together well. Let this cool for about 3 minutes before using- dip your finger into the chocolate-butter mixture to make sure it’s more or less at room temperature. It’s fine if it is still a little bit warm.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and sugar together well, until foamy. Then add the chocolate-butter mixture, salt, flour and cocoa powder. Whisk well until everything comes together and the batter seems to pull away from the edges. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Put dollops of biscoff spread onto random parts of the brownie batter and use a knife to swirl it through the chocolatey batter. Then put 5-6 whole oreo cookies on top of the batter and press them down into the batter. The batter will be pushed up between the cookies; use the back of a spoon to spread these parts over the cookies. Sprinkle the top with coarse salt before putting the tin in the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes. Check at the 20-minute mark, if a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out with wet crumbs then you can take it out already. If it is still very gloopy and wet, leave it in for a few more minutes. If you’re baking this in a square pan, you will only need half the baking time. Leave the brownies to cool at room temperature on a cooling rack or heatproof surface for half an hour before cutting and serving. They are perfect on their own, but also good with ice cream or a scoop of crème fraiche on top.

Restaurant of the week:

Starting the birthday eats off well. I was impressed by Clipstone, a place I’ve wanted to visit since Zoe took me to Portland exactly a year ago for my birthday. The lunchtime vibe here is impeccable, casual but you can make it dressy if you want. This was one of the best Western lunches I’ve had in London in a long time. £34 for 2 courses or £39 for 3? The choice was easy, no inner war waged.