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gluten_freeThese cassava flour brownies are soft and cakey, barely sweet, and have a dark chocolate flavor that just hints at bitterness.
This recipe came straight off the back of my Bob's Red Mill cassava flour. How could I not try it? I already had the flour right there!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chips or chopped (100 grams or 3.5 ounces)
1/2 cup maple syrup (160 grams)
1/4 cup cacao powder or natural cocoa powder (30 grams)
1/4 cup oil (55 grams)
1/4 cup cassava flour (35 grams)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped chocolate or nuts (optional)
Time: 10-30 minutes of prep (see variation), 20-ish in the oven, an hour to cool.
Tools: Maybe a stand or hand-held mixer. Though I went without. Maybe a microwave.
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch pan and fit it with a strip of parchment paper that has extra material on the ends to use as handles later.
2. Over medium low heat in a double boiler or a makeshift double boiler—basically a pot with a two inches of water in it and a bigger metal bowl stuck on top of it—melt the chocolate together with the maple syrup, oil, and cacao powder. Stir occasionally just to check in on how the chocolate's melting.
3. While the chocolate's melting, mix together the cassava flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Watch out for the cassava flour: it's very fine and will take any opportunity to waft up in a huge cloud.
4. In a larger bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract until "thick and foamy." Honestly, I got to this step and I was like, "no thanks," but I sort of followed through since it was my first time making this recipe and I wanted to do it right. If you're serious about making your eggs thick and foamy, use a whisk and a tireless arm, a hand-held mixer, or stand mixer with the whisk attachment. But I'm not sure it matters.
5. Once the chocolate's melted, remove it from the heat and from the pan it was sitting on and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes. Once it's cooler, add it to the flour mixture and combine until there's no flour visible. Then, add a little bit of this chocolate mixture to the eggs while whisking. This will temper the eggs in case the chocolate is still hot enough to cook them. Whisk that up, add in a little more chocolate, whisk. Continue until your batter is thick and glossy and all the eggs are in there. Stir in your extra chocolate chunks and/or nuts now.
6. Pour the batter into your pan and spread it out to all the corners. Mine was thin enough that I could just tilt the pan and it ran into the corners. It won't look like much, but it does puff up in the oven.
7. Bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Give it a turn at 15 minutes. The brownies will be done when you stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let cool in pan, on a rack. These have a cakey look when they're done, with a smooth, rounded top that looks soft and glossy, and they don't sink while cooling.
8. Wait until brownies are completely cool before cutting into them. At least an hour. I like to slide a paring knife along the edges that were exposed to the pan, just to make sure they release, then grab the ends of the parchment paper and lift the whole thing outta there and put it on a cutting board, or—if you're serving—on a plate (just trim the excess parchment paper).
9. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container or covered with plastic wrap,. The brownies were just as moist and tender the second day, at which point they were completely consumed, so I can't say how long they last before they go stale.
Notes: The measurements in grams are mine. I measured the amount by volume, then weighed it. The numbers could be a bit off, but it's not a huge deal if they are. Since I had my scale out, I also weighed the liquids and included them here, but be aware they have the potential to be very off due to differences between brands.
Cassava flour is made from the same root as tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour), but it's not interchangeable with tapioca starch/flour. Cassava flour contains more of the root—not just the starch—but like tapioca starch, it has a very fine texture and a tendency to foomp out into a huge powdery cloud if you agitate it, so pour—and stir—carefully.
I used cacao powder, which is less processed than cocoa powder, but either will work. I used 66% cocoa semi-sweet chocolate baking discs from Guittard, which melted real nice, and avocado oil, which is almost entirely flavorless, but you can use any fat you want.
Now, usually I prefer my brownies to be dense and fudgy rather than light and cakey, but I love the soft texture and darker flavor of these. I'm not sure if it was the cacao powder (this was my first time baking with it) or the cassava flour, which is said to have an earthy taste, but I dug it.
Variation: This variation is in method rather than flavor, but the second time I made these I did it fast & cheap. I mixed together the cassava flour, cacao powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. In the microwave, I zapped the chocolate and oil in 20 second increments, taking it out and stirring after each blast, until the chocolate was melted. That took about a minute. Then I mixed the maple syrup and vanilla in with the melted chocolate to cool it down, added that to the flour mixture, and whisked it together. Then I added the eggs, one at a time, whisking thoroughly after each addition until the eggs were incorporated. This batter was thicker because it wasn't as warm, so it was a little harder to spread in the pan, but the brownies came out exactly the same as the other method. So, do whatever's easiest for you.
Questions? Ask 'em!
This recipe came straight off the back of my Bob's Red Mill cassava flour. How could I not try it? I already had the flour right there!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chips or chopped (100 grams or 3.5 ounces)
1/2 cup maple syrup (160 grams)
1/4 cup cacao powder or natural cocoa powder (30 grams)
1/4 cup oil (55 grams)
1/4 cup cassava flour (35 grams)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped chocolate or nuts (optional)
Time: 10-30 minutes of prep (see variation), 20-ish in the oven, an hour to cool.
Tools: Maybe a stand or hand-held mixer. Though I went without. Maybe a microwave.
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch pan and fit it with a strip of parchment paper that has extra material on the ends to use as handles later.
2. Over medium low heat in a double boiler or a makeshift double boiler—basically a pot with a two inches of water in it and a bigger metal bowl stuck on top of it—melt the chocolate together with the maple syrup, oil, and cacao powder. Stir occasionally just to check in on how the chocolate's melting.
3. While the chocolate's melting, mix together the cassava flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Watch out for the cassava flour: it's very fine and will take any opportunity to waft up in a huge cloud.
4. In a larger bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla extract until "thick and foamy." Honestly, I got to this step and I was like, "no thanks," but I sort of followed through since it was my first time making this recipe and I wanted to do it right. If you're serious about making your eggs thick and foamy, use a whisk and a tireless arm, a hand-held mixer, or stand mixer with the whisk attachment. But I'm not sure it matters.
5. Once the chocolate's melted, remove it from the heat and from the pan it was sitting on and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes. Once it's cooler, add it to the flour mixture and combine until there's no flour visible. Then, add a little bit of this chocolate mixture to the eggs while whisking. This will temper the eggs in case the chocolate is still hot enough to cook them. Whisk that up, add in a little more chocolate, whisk. Continue until your batter is thick and glossy and all the eggs are in there. Stir in your extra chocolate chunks and/or nuts now.
6. Pour the batter into your pan and spread it out to all the corners. Mine was thin enough that I could just tilt the pan and it ran into the corners. It won't look like much, but it does puff up in the oven.
7. Bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Give it a turn at 15 minutes. The brownies will be done when you stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let cool in pan, on a rack. These have a cakey look when they're done, with a smooth, rounded top that looks soft and glossy, and they don't sink while cooling.
8. Wait until brownies are completely cool before cutting into them. At least an hour. I like to slide a paring knife along the edges that were exposed to the pan, just to make sure they release, then grab the ends of the parchment paper and lift the whole thing outta there and put it on a cutting board, or—if you're serving—on a plate (just trim the excess parchment paper).
9. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container or covered with plastic wrap,. The brownies were just as moist and tender the second day, at which point they were completely consumed, so I can't say how long they last before they go stale.
Notes: The measurements in grams are mine. I measured the amount by volume, then weighed it. The numbers could be a bit off, but it's not a huge deal if they are. Since I had my scale out, I also weighed the liquids and included them here, but be aware they have the potential to be very off due to differences between brands.
Cassava flour is made from the same root as tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour), but it's not interchangeable with tapioca starch/flour. Cassava flour contains more of the root—not just the starch—but like tapioca starch, it has a very fine texture and a tendency to foomp out into a huge powdery cloud if you agitate it, so pour—and stir—carefully.
I used cacao powder, which is less processed than cocoa powder, but either will work. I used 66% cocoa semi-sweet chocolate baking discs from Guittard, which melted real nice, and avocado oil, which is almost entirely flavorless, but you can use any fat you want.
Now, usually I prefer my brownies to be dense and fudgy rather than light and cakey, but I love the soft texture and darker flavor of these. I'm not sure if it was the cacao powder (this was my first time baking with it) or the cassava flour, which is said to have an earthy taste, but I dug it.
Variation: This variation is in method rather than flavor, but the second time I made these I did it fast & cheap. I mixed together the cassava flour, cacao powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. In the microwave, I zapped the chocolate and oil in 20 second increments, taking it out and stirring after each blast, until the chocolate was melted. That took about a minute. Then I mixed the maple syrup and vanilla in with the melted chocolate to cool it down, added that to the flour mixture, and whisked it together. Then I added the eggs, one at a time, whisking thoroughly after each addition until the eggs were incorporated. This batter was thicker because it wasn't as warm, so it was a little harder to spread in the pan, but the brownies came out exactly the same as the other method. So, do whatever's easiest for you.
Questions? Ask 'em!
no subject
Date: 2019-05-29 04:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-29 05:32 am (UTC)I was considering trying this recipe with honey, which may make a moister/stickier brownie, but I'm worried the flavor might be distracting. So my other option is adding in more fat/chocolate. Going by some other cassava flour brownie recipes, it looks like I could double the chocolate and/or fat and get fudgier results. I mean, I have to try. For science.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-30 05:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-30 05:46 am (UTC)Plus if you've made brownies from a box, then you already know how to tell when they're done.