A few weeks back, my family came to visit me in London for the summer and I took them to Borough Market for Bread Ahead's doughnuts. While we were there, we came across a stall selling assorted chocolate truffles and my mom bought a box of strawberry balsamic flavoured ones. It was love at first taste and I set about recreating this wonderful combination of sweet and tangy to satisfy my cravings and also to use up the massive amounts of flour and sugar in the cupboard since I'll be moving out to my new place soon.

I used my favourite chewy brownie recipe here, but I ran out of dark chocolate so I substituted some of it for Guido Gobino's Giandujottino chocolates we bought from Turin (my mom was horrified and said it was a waste of expensive chocolate).

There are three kinds of brownies - fudgy, chewy and cakey. I don't know about you but I don't particularly fancy the gooey, fudgy and dense sort that coats your teeth and sticks to the back of your throat. Give me a few bites of it and I'll be reaching for a glass of water to wash down the overwhelming fudginess. I don't really like cakey brownies either, unless they are served warm and fresh out of the oven with a generous scoop of icecream. So yes, I'm a pretty picky brownie eater. I like my brownies chewy (in the middle of fudgy and cakey) with a cracked surface and a nice swirl of light frosting on top.

Unlike cakes, you don't need a whisk or any fancy equipment to make brownies. They are simple to make and all-in-one-bowl kind of fuss free, which makes it easy for me to clean up after. I apply the same philosophy when cooking for myself as well: Cook in one pan and eat out of said pan.