Bongo Brownies

Hello and welcome to this month’s baking recipe! For the whole of July I’m focusing on zoos and zoo conservation, so for this this month’s bake I was inspired by and animal that is fairly common in zoos but is critically endangered in the wild – the mountain bongo.

Mountain bongos (or Eastern bongos) are found only in Kenya and are one of the largest species of antelope in the world. They can measure up to 1.3m at the shoulder and weigh as much as 400kg! Mountain bongos are confined to the forests of Mt Kenya, the Aberdares and the Mau & Eburu forests living in small, isolated populations. There’s thought to be less than 100 individuals left in the wild and the species is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on IUCN’s Red List. The mountain bongo is the most threatened antelope in Kenya and its main threats are from poaching and habitat destruction.

So where do zoos come in?

Mountain bongos (as well as the other subspecies of bongo, the lowland/western bongo) are a fairly popular animal amongst zoos. As of 2012 there were over 600 individuals living in zoos across the world and this number is likely to be much higher now. But how does this help wild populations? Well, a captive breeding programme has been set up to help boost captive numbers. This programme works with zoos on a global scale, allowing for the movement of individuals between zoos to set up breeding pairs and maintain as much genetic diversity as possible. By increasing the captive population of mountain bongos, individuals can then be reintroduced into the wild. This was the case in 2004 when 18 mountain bongos from US zoos were moved to a captive breeding facility in Kenya. This will then lead to individuals being released back into the wild.

To find more about mountain bongos and work being done to save them, click here.

Let’s get to the recipe

So, the recipe for this month, inspired by the mountain bongo, is bongo brownies! These turned out soooo good and are perfect if you love a good gooey brownie. Yum!

Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate
• 250g butter (or margarine)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g sugar (preferably caster but granulated works just fine)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 25g cocoa powder
• 65g plain flour
• 4 tbsp Horlicks
• 3 large eggs
• 50g white chocolate (for the topping)

Equipment:

• Baking paper
• Saucepan
• Two mixing bowls – 1 small, 1 large
• Baking tray – 24x30cm and 4cm (don’t worry if you don’t have this exact size, any tray will work)

Method:

1. Line your baking tray and preheat your oven to 180°C.
2. Bring some water to the boil in your saucepan, turn it down to a low heat so it is simmering and place a small bowl on top. Pop in the dark chocolate and butter. Stir occasionally until mixed, then mix in the vanilla extract and take off the heat.
3. In the large mixing bowl, add the sugar, cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and Horlicks. Stir them all together and then add the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Mix well.
4. Whisk in the eggs (I usually break the eggs and whisk them in a mug first, then add them to the mixture). And pour the mixture into the lined baking tray. Make sure its evenly spread!
5. Put in the oven for 20 minutes – if you want your brownies to be less gooey then leave for another 10 minutes but you may need to cover the top with foil to prevent it burning.
6. Take the tray out and leave to cool completely (this will take a good couple of hours).
7. When cooled, melt the white chocolate in a microwave – stirring every 10-15 seconds to avoid burning. Then, using a spoon, drizzle the white chocolate in lines over the top of the brownies. Cut the brownies into 12 and enjoy!