My family never celebrated Father’s Day. Mother's Day, yes, but never Father's Day. In fact, my dad would have been deeply suspicious if we had ever given him a gift. He would have suspected foul play and gone out to check that no one had crashed the car or run over the cat. So I was quite surprised when my own children told me how excited they were about the holiday. Then I thought harder: it’s all about chocolate—large quantities of chocolate—and they are looking forward to getting their share.
Most dads love chocolate (but of course not all of them will admit it). They want to be thought of as being rough and tough, lovers of the great outdoors, and able to eat a whole rack of ribs in one bite. Not as a gentle, quiet booklover whose idea of a good night in is watching a DVD curled up on the sofa with his family and a bar of chocolate.
To combat that idea, some dads are stealthy. Under the cover of darkness, late at night, when the rest of the family has gone to bed, they creep through the house on their chocolate hunt. This is no game. They will keep searching until they find their prey. It doesn’t matter where you keep it—in the fridge, in the larder, hidden under a large pile of books, or stashed away under your bed. The next morning it will be gone and we all know who is to blame. The trouble is getting them to admit to the crime.
So this year, take action and preempt the chocolate raid by making him these fabulous melting and fudgy brownies for Father's Day. He will be so thrilled that you could advantage of his good humor and possibly mention the fact that you are overdrawn at the bank, your exam grades were not quite as good as you had hoped, or that you had something to do with that new scratch on his car.
WHITE CHOCOLATE AND MACADAMIA BROWNIES
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate8 ounces butter2 large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 teaspoons instant coffee1 cup superfine sugar2 cups all purpose flourPinch of salt1 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped8 ounces white chocolate
In a small pot, heat the chocolate and butter until melted, set aside. In a large bowl beat together the eggs, vanilla, coffee, and sugar. Then stir in the melted chocolate mixture, with the flour, salt, nuts and white chocolate. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch square tin lined with baking parchment and cook at 350 degrees for roughly 25 minutes, or until the brownies are just set. Leave to cool in the tin. Then give them to your dad and leave him alone, yes alone, to enjoy them!
