JEDDAH: Brownies are easily the toughest sweet treat to make. With the crisp top and bottom and a melt-in-the-mouth middle, they can often turn out stone dry or gooey beyond redemption.
Finding good ones is hard.
The owners of the Instagram-famed bakery Melted, Al-Anoud Albraikan and Haya Al-Jamal, had that exact problem.
“We were inspired by the fact that we could not find any good brownies anywhere around, all the places had either packaged brownies or ‘cakey’ brownies. Therefore, we decided to make our own.”
Their brand, Melted, has since mastered the art of making the perfect brownie. With their simple recipe, it blew up on Instagram, and has over 4,500 followers.
The brownies are not just chocolate though, and come in an array of different flavors to accommodate the taste buds of the customer.
The classics are called the “Oh Fudge!” brownies, with milk chocolate chunks, and the peanut butter brownie.
There are also Arabic coffee brownies that were supposed to be a seasonal flavor for Ramadan, but the customers loved them so much that they stayed.
Also on the menu are blondies, which consist of the chewy and soft texture of brownies, but for people who do not like chocolate. On Melted’s menu, they have “Lotus” and “Birthday” options.
The passionate bakers told Arab News: “Our idea behind the business is to build a bridge between Western and Eastern flavors. We love to experiment with our brownies and coming up with new flavors, like the Arabic coffee flavor.”
They also sell chocolate chip cookies and chewy cookie bars, and have their trademark style of packaging, using glass jars with their logo filled with their products. Melted was established in 2016.
“We were two graphic designers who shared the same passion and love for food, and the response of friends and family was overwhelming. It was only fair to share these sweet treats with the rest of the world,” Albraikan and Al-Jamal said.
In the beginning, the girls struggled with juggling Melted and their full-time jobs, but as the business expanded, they put together an efficient team.
They consider their biggest achievement to be the word-of-mouth popularity that the brand has generated.
“Our plan is to open up a local shop, as we are still operating from home and supply our products to different shops. But we would like to have our own place to sell and serve our loyal customers.”
