Brownie
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup almond flour
-
1 cup clarified butter
-
1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 can coconut milk
- 1 bar of dark chocolate
-
2 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
Buy I can never get enough of chocolate. I always stick to this one rule – I choose dark chocolate with high cocoa content! Do you know that chocolate is rich in polyphenols that have a huge pro-health effect? Of course, as with any other product, we should use it in moderation.
What I’ve prepared for you today is a recipe for one of the most popular cakes, the main ingredient of which is the aforementioned chocolate, i.e. brownie. A piece of this delicacy goes perfectly with a cup of dark, strong coffee …
You’ll have to find this out for yourself! 🙂
Why almond flour makes the difference
Almond flour has no gluten to build structure with and it carries its own fat, which is exactly what gives this brownie its dense, fudgy crumb. A wheat brownie rises and sets into something closer to cake; this one stays low, moist and slightly sticky in the middle, which is what most people actually want from a brownie.
It also means the batter will not tolerate over-baking. There is nothing holding moisture in once it goes, so the difference between perfect and dry is a matter of five minutes.
The water bath, and why not the microwave
Chocolate melted over direct heat seizes and turns grainy, and clarified butter separates. A bowl over simmering water keeps the temperature low enough for both to come together into a smooth, glossy mass. Stir gently and only occasionally, and take the bowl off the heat while a few pieces are still visible: the residual warmth finishes the job.
Let the chocolate cool slightly before it meets the blended eggs, otherwise it starts to set them.
Knowing when to take it out
Thirty minutes at 180°C (350°F) is the guide, but check at twenty five with a skewer inserted off-centre. It should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it, not clean. A clean skewer means you have gone too far.
The brownie firms up considerably as it cools, so it will look underdone when it comes out of the oven. Cut it only once it is completely cold, or the squares will fall apart.
Which brownie to choose from the blog
There are several versions here and they are genuinely different cakes. This one is the classic: almond flour, dark chocolate, coconut milk, nothing hidden inside. The others build the base on something else, so pick by what you have and how you feel about it:
- Bean brownies, built on canned red beans and also gluten free.
- Zucchini brownies, on buckwheat and oat flour with grated zucchini.
- Sweet raspberry brownie, on oat and corn flour with fruit.
Sea salt over the top, as suggested at the end of the recipe, works best on this version precisely because it is the plainest of the four. If you like having desserts accounted for rather than improvised, a weekly plan with a shopping list makes that easier.
Preparation
I put the dark chocolate and clarified butter into a heatproof bowl. Then I melted them in a water bath, slightly stirring. Next, I blended the eggs with honey, added melted chocolate with butter, and coconut milk. I blended the mixture again. Then I mixed the flour, cocoa, baking powder and thoroughly blended the dry ingredients with the chocolate mixture until smooth.
Finally, I poured the dough into a mold and put it in the oven. I baked the brownie at 180°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes. You can decorate the cake with fresh fruit, for example raspberries, or (if you like to experiment) sprinkle a little sea salt over the top to break the sweet taste of chocolate. Enjoy your meal! 🙂
Almond flour brownie with dark chocolate
Ingredients
Method
- Put the dark chocolate and the clarified butter into a heatproof bowl and melt them in a water bath, stirring slightly.
- Blend the eggs with the honey, then add the melted chocolate with butter and the coconut milk, and blend again.
- Mix the almond flour, cocoa and baking powder, then blend the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture until smooth.
- Pour the batter into a mould and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes.
- Let the brownie cool completely before cutting. Decorate with fresh fruit, for example raspberries, or sprinkle a little sea salt over the top.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Yes. It is made with almond flour and gluten free baking powder, with no wheat flour at all. If you are baking for someone with coeliac disease, check that the baking powder and the chocolate both carry a gluten free label, since traces can come from the packing plant rather than the ingredients.
Any ground nut flour behaves similarly, hazelnut being the closest. What matters is that it carries fat and has no gluten, because that combination is what gives the dense, fudgy crumb. Wheat flour will work as a cake but the result is a different, lighter dessert. For a version with no flour at all, there are bean brownies on the blog, built on canned red beans.
Over direct heat chocolate seizes and turns grainy, and clarified butter separates. A bowl over simmering water keeps the temperature low enough for both to come together into a smooth mass. Take it off the heat while a few pieces are still visible, because the residual warmth finishes the job, and let it cool slightly before it meets the blended eggs.
Check at twenty five minutes with a skewer inserted off-centre: it should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it, not clean. A clean skewer means it is overbaked. The brownie also firms up considerably as it cools, so it looks underdone straight out of the oven.
It is there for moisture and a little fat, so it can be replaced with the same amount of another plant drink or with cream. Do not simply leave it out, because with only almond flour, butter and eggs the batter turns too thick to spread and the brownie bakes dry. Sea salt over the top works especially well on this version, because it is the plainest of the brownies on the blog. And if you like having desserts accounted for rather than improvised, the Diet & Training by Ann app plans the week with a shopping list to match.
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