by Cat, February 2014 (photo, right, from Amazon (1))
This recipe is adapted from one given to me by an online friend, Bonita. I’m helping her learn how to use stevia instead of sugar.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies
I use Organic Fair Trade baking cocoa (cacao) powder for all cakes and cookies requiring cocoa powder.
If you like nuts in your brownies, chop walnuts or pecans to make ½ cup. Soak overnight, then dry them at lowest oven setting, or lightly toast them. See my articles: Soaking & Sprouting Nuts & Seeds and Toasting Nuts & Seeds for details.
Ingredients & Equipment
- ¾ c almond meal (finely-ground almonds or almond flour)
- ¼ tsp Unrefined sea salt
- ½ cup baking cocoa, powdered
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅜ tsp stevia extract powder plus ½ Tbsp maple syrup (or ¾ cup Rapadura sugar instead of stevia, etc.)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp instant coffee granules
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup butter (½ cube)
- 9″ square cake pan
- small bowl
- medium and large mixing bowls
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter cake pan.
- If using stevia, dissolve it in the maple syrup in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Or add it to eggs before beating them (stevia doesn’t dissolve well in eggs so needs all the help it can get from beating, to distribute the grains of stevia throughout).
- Meanwhile whisk together the almond meal, sugar (if using), baking powder and salt in medium bowl.
- Beat eggs until fluffy in large bowl; stir in vanilla, coffee granules, and maple syrup/stevia mixture (if using).
- Melt coconut oil and butter over low heat in saucepan, then whisk in cocoa powder until well combined.
- Mix oil & cocoa mixture into eggs.
- Fold almond mixture into egg mixture.
- Pour into buttered cake pan and bake in preheated oven 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven to rack to cool before cutting into brownies.
Testing
2/8/14: Made half recipe and baked in 5″x7″ pan. Used: 5 Tbsp almond meal, ⅛ tsp salt, ¼ tsp baking powder; ¾ tsp maple syrup, rounded ⅛ tsp stevia; 1 ½ eggs, ½ tsp vanilla, 1 tsp coffee granules; 2 Tbsp each coconut oil & butter, ¼ cup cocoa powder. Stevia dissolved in the maple syrup, but because I used so little of it, much of it stayed in the small bowl and didn’t make it into the brownies. Baked at 350 for 20 minutes (because of small batch size). Result: Rose nicely in oven, then fell a bit while cooling, which is normal. Texture is good – nicely moist. However, not enough stevia so bitterness of chocolate is foremost. If make half-batch next time, I’ll add the stevia to the egg before beating, to ensure it mixes well. Recipe updated accordingly.
