Brownie Basics
I’m going to let the picture of this brownie speak for itself.
Brownie Backstory
I’m pretty confident that this was another Friday lunchtime South Bank brownie, but for some reason the usual market wasn’t acceptable and so I and a friend investigated a number of the stalls that had sprung up because it was nearly Christmas time. I had a pretty decent tofu pad thai lunch and then my friend bought me this, from a stall that despite the name seemed to be entirely baked goods.
On the top it had cheesecake swirls and marmalade, of all things. On the base… well, it was halfway between a biscuit base (like an actual cheesecake) and a more shortcrust-pastry-type thing, like a chocolate torte.
Honestly, if this hadn’t been sold as a brownie I wouldn’t have considered it to be one. That’s not meant as a criticism, but the separate base is a very unusual touch (off the top of my head, I can only compare the s’more brownie) that makes it feel less brownie-like and more like… something else. And then the combination of cheesecake swirls and marmalade? I mean, I’ve frequently (if not always) championed the experimental side of a brownie, so I suppose I shan’t turn my nose up at this one. Especially not if it’s free!
Brownie Points
Taste: The marmalade taste is too strong to be honest. It overpowers everything else and makes the whole cake taste tangy and almost bitter. It wasn’t exactly bad, but it wasn’t really what I wanted. Luckily (perhaps?) the marmalade wasn’t evenly distributed and so there was some bites of brownie where you could taste the brownie itself, which was much better. 6/10
Texture: Not sold on the base, or the need for the base, but the brownie was soft and pleasant. 7/10
Presentation: I like the look of the top with the interweaving swirls of cheesecake and marmalade. The cross-section of the brownie is alright, though the very uneven dividing line between base and brownie looks a bit amateurish. 3/5
Value: I will level with you, I did not write down the price of this brownie. I did, however, at one point, know what the price was (even though I didn’t buy it) and at that point I calculated a value for the brownie, which you’ll just have to trust was 7/10
Fudge Factor: Experimentation deserves recognition, even when that experimentation doesn’t fully work (marmalade!) or when it produces something that’s been derived one too many steps away from actual brownies. 1/5
Brownie Judgment: 24
Should I Buy And Eat This Brownie?
I’ve ended up giving it a score at the top end of “okay”, but still I think I’d have to say no to this one. There are just a lot of better options for brownies around that area. This doesn’t even feel like it would particularly satisfy a hankering for brownie.
Closing Thought
I feel like I cannot overstate how much The Rise Of Skywalker fucking sucked.
BROWNIE POINTS 