Earlier this week I shared a photo of our Sunday night Bake-Off on Instagram. My husband baked traditional Irish brown bread. I got my game face on and made baked rhubarb and amazing chocolate brownies. Requests for the recipe flooded in, so I’m going to share it here. No wheat, no grains, healthy fats in the eggs and almonds & magnesium in the dark chocolate all help to make these brownies great for you. The fibre & fats help to slow down the release of sugar into your blood. Also, I’ve used coconut sugar, which has a low glycaemic load and therefore doesn’t have the same impact on your blood sugars as normal cane sugar. Magnesium is a mineral that tends to be in short supply and we need plenty of it to balance hormones, help us respond to stress and to keep our cool.
Here we go:
Step 1: Turn on the oven to 180C
Step 2: In a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt 200g of 85% dark chocolate and 200g of cow’s or goat’s butter. You could also use coconut cream, you know the kind you get in a block from the Asian supermarket? That stuff works beautifully too. (This time I added the zest of 1 organic orange, just for fun.)
Step 3: While the chocolate and butter are melting, line and grease a 7×11″ baking dish. I like to use a small rectangular Le Creuset stoneware dish, as I’m not a fan of non-stick materials.
Step 4: Chop 50g of 85% dark chocolate into rough chunks and pop in a small bowl with 100g of ground almonds plus 2 level tsps of gluten free baking powder. Set this bowl aside.
Step 5: Once the chocolate and butter are completely melted (give them an occasional stir) whisk up 200g of coconut sugar and 4 eggs. Coconut sugar is quite dark, so your mix will be a lovely rich caramel colour.
Step 6: Pour the chocolate mix into the egg mix and slowly combine, keeping as many of the air bubbles intact as you can (it helps to stir in the same direction that you whisked the egg mix)
Step 6: Now add the ground almond mix, stir thoroughly and pour into your lined baking dish
Step 7: Pop in the oven and bake for 30 mins or so. You want the brownie mix to have risen nicely and started to come away from the edge of the dish, but no more. It’s easy to overdo them, which makes them quite dry.
Step 8: Bribe children or your partner with bowls and spoons to lick in exchange for washing the dishes. Sit back and wait…
Step 9: Once you’ve removed the brownies from the oven, resist the urge to remove them from the baking dish. Let them cool and turn out onto a board later. These will keep for a week in an airtight container in the fridge (if you can resist that long) and actually taste far more yummy when they’re cold and fudgey. Best chopped into small squares, as they’re REALLY filling.
Enjoy!
I’d love you to share this recipe with anyone you think needs it. (I reckon that’s pretty much everyone) Comment below and let me know how you get on…