Food Friday - Gluten Free Goodies!

It is both a blessing and a curse that I have no dietary restrictions or food allergies.  The blessing is that I can eat anything that I like; the curse is that I do! Lol!  I am grateful for the freedom to not have to read every food label super carefully to avoid a potential life threatening reaction.   These brownies are perfect for those who must follow a gluten free diet, but beware if you have nut allergies.  The typical wheat flour is replaced, in my case, with almond flour.

My daughter did some baking for an event that we were having at school.  A specific request was made for some kind of gluten-free treat.  She made these brownies.  They are the best brownies that I have ever put in my mouth!  Assuming that you like chewy fudgy brownies over the more cake-like texture.  When Tracey and decided to do a post containing gluten free goodies, there was no question that these would be my contribution.  The original recipe is from Brave Tart blog, a blog that was started by two friends who shared common interests in food, writing and photography.  Hmm...sounds kind of familiar. :-)

Whether you have to or you just can eat gluten free brownies, I promise that these will not disappoint!!  Brave Tart calls them Brown Butter Hazelnut Brownies.  Because the one adaptation to the recipe that we have made is to use almond flour rather than hazelnut, I am simply calling them Gluten free brownies.  With that one exception, the recipe appears exactly as published by Brave Tart.

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. unsalted butter
12 oz. dark chocolate chopped (70% minimum)
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, seeds reserved, or 2 TBS vanilla extract
7 oz. (2 1/4 cups) almond flour
4.5 oz. cocoa powder (not Hershey's - her words, not mine!)
6 eggs
21 (ounces of sugar  (approximately 2 1/2 cups)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 TBS instant espresso powder
optional: additional chocolate for drizzling or dipping
(These brownies are so rich that this is not necessary for taste, but it does make them pretty for display.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line a 9x13 baking pan with a sheet of aluminum foil down the center and hanging over the ends.  This will make removing the brownies super easy.  Alternately, lightly grease 15 4" round tart pans.

Melt the butter, along with the vanilla bean, in a medium saucepan over low heat until liquefied.  (If you are using vanilla extract, DO NOT add it now.)  Increase the heat to medium low.  The mixture will bubble, possible spit, and make a lot of noise.  Keep an eye on it and keep simmering.  You'll notice brown bits forming on the bottom.  You don't want these bits to turn black.  Don't bother with stirring or skimming, just watch and listen and possibly turn down the heat if it looks too toasty.  After a while the butter will go ninja silent, which means that you are done.

Remove the butter from the heat and add the chocolate.  Whisk, scraping along the bottom to mix up the browned bits, until smooth.  The mixture will be quite thin.  Set off of the heat to cool.

Put the nuts and the cocoa in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Don't bother sifting.  The nibby bits of (hazel)nuts are really nice in the finished brownies.  Set aside.

With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combines eggs sugar, reserved vanilla seeds or vanilla extract, salt, and espresso powder,  Whip on medium speed for about five minutes.

Turn the mixer speed to low and pour in the butter/chocolate mixture all at once.  Immediately add in the dry ingredients and keep mixing until just incorporated.

Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared pans.  Bake 30 minutes for the large pan or 15 minutes for the tart pans.  Bake until the brownies are slightly firm to the touch.  They may not seem totally done when you pull them out, but this particular brownie is so very dense that it will retain its heat and keep cooking for some time.  Err on the side of gooey.

Cool the brownies thoroughly before cutting.  If you are looking for extremely neat squares, refrigerate for an hour before cutting.  If you used the tart pans, use a toothpick to loosen the brownie and then turn the pan over to release the brownie.

You can drizzle or cover the brownies in tempered chocolate.

I don't usually double up my Pixels, Plates, and LOLs photos and my Capture Your 365 photos of the day, but today was an exception.  Since Tracey and I met through Capture Your 365 and today marks its fifth birthday, it seems only appropriate to "double dip" here.  If you have not read about our beginnings, here is the link to our very first post.

from Tracey G

I too am fortunate that as of now, I don't have to restrict my diet, but in the effort to try to do some good and be helpful for those that do, I don't mind testing out some mixes out there for gluten-free eating. I recently bought a couple gluten-free cake mixes, one by Betty Crocker and the other by King Arthur. I was going to test them side by side, but I decided that would be a LOT of cupcakes around, and I didn't want to waste anything. The Betty Crocker mix made only 12 cupcakes and the King Arthur Yellow Cake Mix makes 24 - that would have been way too many cupcakes to get eaten in a timely fashion around here!

This time around I made the Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix, since Betty Crocker mixes are all over the place, I figured it was a good one to try since it's likely very attainable. It wasn't too bad, just a little different. It had a very dense texture, and to me, kind of light on flavor. But that wouldn't be enough for me not to buy it again, I wouldn't hesitate to get it. Both Jeremy and Harry liked them, so I take that as a good thing. I do find the addition of frosting helps them out in the flavor department for me personally, but again, Jeremy and Harry thought less (frosting) would be better. Go figure

This mix mixed up a bit different. It was like a butter cake recipe, where you add 1/2 c butter instead of vegetable oil. The mix also directs you to add 2 tsp of vanilla extract, that was a first for me - I've never added any to any other cake mix before. Other than those things, the rest went along as usual for a cake mix.

Per my taste, I made homemade chocolate buttercream for the frosting. I like the combination of yellow cake and chocolate frosting, because yellow cake isn't my favorite, so that combo helps me out, lol. I'll include the frosting recipe since it's my all-time favorite. I've tried for years to find a chocolate buttercream recipe that I loved, and I finally did about a year or so ago. All the frostings I ever found weren't chocolaty enough or were too chocolaty and usually too sweet. I never liked chocolate cake with chocolate frosting until I found this one.  

So I guess my bottom line is, Betty's mix is a good choice. I would make it again if needed. I am anxious now to try the King Arthur brand, but as I said, I have a feeling Betty's would be easier for me to locate on my local grocery store shelves, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yield: about 4 cups

1/2 c butter

1/2 c vegetable shortening

4.5 c powdered sugar

1 1/4 c cocoa powder

1-2 tsp vanilla

1/2-3/4 c milk

In a mixing bowl cream the butter and shortening (you can also use all butter if you like); add vanilla and mix well. Gradually add and beat in powdered sugar & cocoa powder. Add enough milk to make frosting to desired spreading consistency.