C is for Chocolate Brownies Gluten Free

Mmmmmm chocolate!

We have made chocolate brownies before but it has been a while since the last batch.  Our usual Chocolate Brownies recipe contains apple purée which cuts out the butter and eggs and therefore lowers the fat and kilojoules.

This time we made a gluten free version inspired by this recipe for Gluten-Free Fudgy Pecan Brownies on Martha Stewart and it might have just become our new favourite.  I have converted the measurements for the ingredients to the Australian equivalents, lowered the amount of sugar used (next time I will try using just 1/4 cup sugar), used less chocolate overall but went for a dark chocolate for flavour and left out the pecans to make it nut allergy suitable.

To make these Gluten-free Chocolate Brownies here is what to do.

1. Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius.

2. Grease and line the baking tin.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornflour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.

Bear breaking the chocolate into small pieces.

Adding the chocolate to the butter for melting.

Melted butter and chocolate mix.

4. Break the chocolate into pieces and add it to the butter for melting in the microwave.

Bear is getting better at cracking eggs.

5. Add the eggs to the butter/chocolate mix, one at a time, and mix it really well.
 

6. Carefully stir the sugar and vanilla in with the melted chocolate/butter mix. Add the cornflour mixture and stir it until the batter is smooth.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake it for 35 minutes and then let it cool.

8. Cut the brownies into squares.

9. Enjoy!

You can download a printable copy of this recipe from here.

Gluten-free Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from www.marthastewart.com
Makes 16 pieces

Ingredients
84g unsalted butter, chopped plus extra for greasing baking tin
1/3 cup cornflour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt
220g dark cooking chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180° Celsius.
2. Lightly grease a 20cm square baking tin and line with non-stick baking paper. Leave 5cm extra hanging over edges.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the cornflour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.
4. Break up the chocolate and place it in a large microwave safe bowl with the butter.
5. Microwave the butter and chocolate in short bursts on medium power until melted. It should take about 2 minutes all up.
6. Stir in the sugar and vanilla with the melted butter/chocolate mix.
7. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
8. Add cornflour mixture and stir until mixture is smooth.
9. Pour batter into prepared tin.
10. Bake for 35 minutes or until skewer inserted in middle of brownies comes out clean.
11. Let cool in pan.
12. Remove brownies from pan and cut into squares.

B is for Brownies

This morning Bear and Bee had a play date organised with some friends at a nearby playground so we decided to make something special to take along to share for morning tea.  With the weather being a bit overcast we settled on chocolate brownies.

The recipe we used also fits with my recent post on allergy free cooking.  It can be adapted to be gluten free and is also reasonably healthy for brownies as it doesn’t contain any butter or eggs.  It is still deliciously chocolatey and gooey in the centre.

The original recipe was from an Australian healthy food magazine and was developed as a makeover to traditional high fat content brownies. I made it a few times years ago to take to work and had forgotten about it til this morning.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened apple puree (I have used canned puree in the past but since we had a few overripe apples I made my own this time)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

¾ cup self-raising flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup sugar

½ cup chopped dark chocolate

½ cup chopped white chocolate

What we did:

Preheat the oven to 175^oC and line a 20x20cm baking tin or slice tin with baking paper.

Place apple puree in a large mixing bowl and sift in flour, cocoa and baking soda.

Sifting the flour, cocoa and baking soda into bowl with puree.

Add sugar and mix until just combined.

Bee adding the sugar to the brownie mix.

Bear and Bee trying to gently mix the brownie mix.

Gently mix in chocolate. We used chocolate chips as that was what was in the pantry.  You could use blocks of chocolate and chop it yourself.

Bear adding the chocolate chips.  Bee eating the chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes or until the centre feels just set.

Cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and allowing to cool completely.  The brownie will be quite soft while it is warm so be careful getting it onto the rack.

Slice into squares.  You could dust the brownies with icing sugar before serving or have them with fresh berries and ice-cream.

Yummy moist chocolate brownies.

Bee enjoying the chocolate brownies at the playground.

Variations

This recipe could be made gluten free by using gluten free flour, cocoa and baking soda.

To add a little crunch you could add ½ cup chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts or macadamias.

What is your favourite chocolate recipe?

A is for Allergy-free cooking

***This post contains affiliate links*** 

While Bear and Bee are yet to show any signs of food allergies I am careful about what they eat.  Bee has a sensitivity to salt.  If she eats it on too many foods ie. hot chips, salted peanuts, potato chips etc in a short space of time she gets a red rash on her face and her eczema is exacerbated and it reappears on her legs and tummy. 


In an effort to come up with new dishes that Bear and Bee will actually try I found this book by the Australian Women's Weekly Allergy-free cooking for kids in our local public library and it includes lots of great recipes that are gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free. I think it is important for children to not only try as many foods as possible but also to try variations of those foods.  Flour made from brown rice, polenta and ground nuts are examples of alternative ingredients used in place of regular ones.

The Allergy-free cooking for kids book is full of delicious and interesting recipes. I can't wait to try them.  These are the ones on my to try list so far -

Hoisin and barbecue chicken rolls (dairy free)
Cranberry chewies made with almonds and dried cranberries (gluten free)
Coconut custard tarts (gluten free)
Polenta-coated chicken (gluten free)
Pizza pinwheels made using potatoes, potato flour and brown rice flour (gluten free)

Raspberry cheesecake slice (gluten free)
Fruity macaroons (dairy free)

Follow my blog and find out which ones Bee and Bear cook and (hopefully) enjoy eating.

If you are interested in this book, you might like to purchase it through my Fishpond Affiliate space.