Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Brownie Recipe

So what I really should do is just instruct you all to buy Cybele's book, because it is full of wonderful multi-allergy friendly recipes (every recipe in the book is free from gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame), but because I'm feeling nice today and because if I entice you with one recipe you might be convinced to buy the book, and because part of living as good stewards is sharing resources such as recipes and because brownies are such elusive creatures, but oh so good, I'll share this one.
Fudge Brownies (from Cybele Pascal's "The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook", page 86, with *my comments*)
Ingredients
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped into centimeter-size pieces (a serrated knife works best for this) *I use Baker's Chocolate that is already in 1 ounce squares and don't chop it because it gets melted right away anyways*
- 1/2 cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening *I'm fine with soy, so I use a soy based one*
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 (4-5-ounce) jars prune puree or apple plum puree (baby food) *I used 10 ounces of Gerber prune puree since it comes in 2.5 ounce containers in packages of 2 (5 ounces total per package)*
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix (page 19) *posted below*
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder *I recently learned that there does exist a corn-free baking powder and that made me very excited*
- 1 1/2 cups dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips *Enjoy Life's chocolate chips are wonderful.  I use one 10oz bag for this recipe*


How it works
1. Preheat the oven to 325*F.  Grease a 9 by 9-inch baking pan, then sprinkle with a little gluten-free flour mix, tapping out any extra. *It MUST be a 9x9 pan.  Do not use an 8x8.  Bad stuff happens*

2. Combine the unsweetened chocolate and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave, stopping to check and stir every 30 seconds *this of course depends on your microwave.  30 seconds in my microwave does nothing to the chocolate.  I start with a minute* (Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and shortening in a double boiler).  Once melted, stir in the sugar and prune puree.  Mix well, add the vanilla, and beat until smooth.

3. Whisk together the flour mix, xantham gum, and baking powder.  Add to the chocolate mixture in three batches, stirring well after each addition.  Beat until smooth.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing down the top with a back of a rubber spatula or large spoon.  Bake in the center of the oven for 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.  Bake until the top looks glossy and the brownie is just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. *Be patient and make sure the brownie is done before removing it from the oven.  Otherwise you get brownie soup*

5. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, then cut into squares.  Remove from the pan and enjoy.  Store in an airtight container. *I left them in the pan...we just covered it with plastic wrap...and left a knife in the pan for cutting them with whenever we wanted a snack.*

Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix- makes 6 cups
4 cups brown rice flour
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2/3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

How it works:
1. To measure flour, use a large spoon *or the 1/3 Cup measuring cup* to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level it off the back of a knife or straightedge.  Do not use the measuring cup itself to scoop your flour when measuring! It will  compact the flour and you will wind up with too much for the recipe.

2. Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size zipper-top bag.  Shake until well blended.  Store in the refrigerator *or a cool dry place...I use the basement* until ready to use.

Now, go buy Cybele's book! (okay, make the brownies first, then buy the book)

1 comment:

Olga said...

The cookbook I was thinking of was this one:
http://www.zandershealthybakery.com/