Sunday, July 27, 2014

Dark Chocolate Paleo Brownies


Dark Chocolate Paleo Brownies


These dark chocolate brownies are awesome! With cocoa powder and melted unsweetened chocolate they are super satisfying. More cake like than gooey they are close to the texture of a chocolate torte. The top stays glossy and they cut like a dream. They are made with raw coconut sugar, which is super yummy and low on the glycemic index as far as sugars go.
I have found paleo brownies which taste good are rather difficult to come by. They are often too oily, dont bake through, or are dry. These were super fast to whip up also. Beware, you must be a lover of dark chocolate, because they do have some of that wonderful bitter component that we go for. (You could add in more sugar, like a 1/4 cup if you want.)


Dark Chocolate Brownies

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
82 g (7 Tablespoons) vegetable shortening (non-hydrogenated like Spectrum)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup cashew meal (or blanched almond flour)
1 tablespoon coconut flour
3/4 cup Dutched cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup honey
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup almond milk

Line a 9" square pan with parchment paper which comes up the sides for easy removal (these will stick to anything else I think.) Preheat the oven to 350°.

Weigh the chocolate and shortening into a small heat proof bowl. Melt over a bain-marie by placing the bowl over another small pot with about an inch of water in it. Turn the heat on to bring the little bit of water to a boil, turn it down once the steam starts seeping out the sides. The steam from below warms the bowl, gently melting the chocolate and shortening. Stir back and forth with a silicone spatula to aid the melting. When it is all liquid, pull the bowl off the heat to cool down. 

Measure the sugar, cashew meal, coconut flour, cocoa powder and sea salt together into a container.

Prepare to mix it all in a food processor or blender. Pour in the wet ingredients first; almond milk, eggs, chocolate mix. Layer the dry ingredients on top (this way they don't stick in the bottom of the mixing device.

Blend for about a minute, so it is all emulsified. Scrape down the sides if you need to. Add a tad more almond milk or water if it is too stiff to blend. Dump the batter out into the prepared pan. Spread with a spatula to to the edges and to look nice, because it does not rearrange itself while baking. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes, so a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let rest for an important 30 minutes. Finally you can lift the parchment paper and brownies out of the pan, fold back the paper and slice them so beautifully with a long sharp knife. I cut mine into 16 squares. Let cool sufficiently before wrapping up to store in the fridge. 

Disclamier: I was happily inspired by this post by Gluten Free on a Shoestring. To give credit where credit is due, thank you! But made several changes along the way which became my brownies here. Enjoy!





1 comment:

  1. I could use a batch of these right now. How does the batter taste ;p

    ReplyDelete

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