Mint isn’t my favourite flavour, the only way I like to eat it is with chocolate. You’d immediately think of After Eights, but they can be sickly sweet. My mint triple chocolate brownies recipe is much more refined.
The recipe doesn’t need a huge amount of added sugar, the dark chocolate – and the white chocolate especially – are sweet enough to start with.
The inclusion of pure cocoa powder (the kind I use is un-Dutched, but it’s not necessary for this recipe) adds even more of a chocolate depth of flavour.
If you don’t have a few heat-proof bowls that fit perfectly over saucepans of simmering water, you can always ‘pulse’ the chocolate in a microwave to get it to melt without burning.
Mint extract is powerful stuff, so you only need a smidgen – less than a teaspoonful to 100 grams of the white chocolate.
To ensure that your stripes are level and defined, keep the brownie in the baking tin as you add each layer. And give each stage time to cool and/or set completely before adding the next one on top.
After a couple of days – if you still have any left – the brownie layer may begin to get a little dry. Simply serve it warmed up with a side of ice cream or pouring cream.
Click here or on the image below to save my recipe to Pinterest
- 175g/6oz butter
- 175g/6oz soft brown sugar
- 75g/2½oz dark chocolate, broken up
- 3 eggs
- 85g/3oz plain flour, sieved
- 40g/1½oz cocoa powder
- 100g/3½oz white chocolate, broken up
- 3tbsps double cream
- ½tsp peppermint extract
- 100g/3½oz dark chocolate, broken up
- 100g/3½fl oz double cream
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350ºF/Gas mark 4
- Grease & line a 20cm/8" square cake tin with parchment paper
- Melt the dark chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water)
- Stir to incorporate until the chocolate is completely melted and free of any lumps
- In another, larger mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar together well
- Mix in the chocolate mixture
- Sieve together the flour and cocoa powder and fold into the mixture
- Pour the batter into the lined baking tin
- Cook for 15-20 minutes or until just baked
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool, still in its tin
- Melt the white chocolate and double cream together in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water). Stir to incorporate until the chocolate is completely melted and free of any lumps
- Stir in the mint extract
- Pour the mixture on to the brownie and spread evenly over the top with the help of a small offset palette knife
- Put the tin into the fridge and allow the mint layer to firm up
- Melt the dark chocolate and double cream together in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water). Stir to incorporate until the chocolate is completely melted and free of any lumps
- Once the mint layer has set, pour the ganache over and spread evenly with a small offset palette knife
Cakes & Bakes: Vegan, gluten-free brownies
These vegan, gluten-free brownies were one of the sweet treats (the other was vegan, gluten-free shortbread) that I took to my last Women’s Institute meeting.
The original recipe used coconut oil as the shortening ingredient; however, I had some remaining Trex that I’d used for the shortbread. I don’t think it detracted from the taste. In addition, I didn’t have a lemon to add to my soya milk to make the buttermilk; instead, I used lime. If you have neither, a tablespoon of white wine or cider vinegar will suffice.
The resulting brownies were rich, chocolaty, gooey and sweet with that lovely crackle top that brownies should always have. They were so sweet, in fact, that I’d reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe – perhaps down to 300 grams.
I brought the few portions that hadn’t been eaten by the ladies back home. I had one of them the following night, reheated in the microwave and a generous amount of thick cream dolloped on top. It was lovely!
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 275g/9¾oz gluten-free plain flour
- 85g/3oz cocoa powder
- 400g/14oz granulated sugar
- 1½tsp baking powder
- ½tsp salt
- 1tbsp instant coffee granules
- 240ml/8½fl oz vegan buttermilk (1 tbsp lemon juice + soya milk up to the 240ml/8½fl oz line
- 240ml/8½fl oz vegan block margarine (e.g. Trex), melted
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 150g/5¼oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/ 350°F/Gas mark 4
- Line a 9-inch square baking tin with parchment paper
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and cocoa powder
- Add in the sugar, baking powder, salt and coffee powder and mix together
- Add the vegan buttermilk, melted margarine and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter
- Add the chocolate chunks and stir in
- Transfer the batter to your prepared baking dish and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 40 minutes
- Allow them to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then lift the tray of brownies out by the parchment paper
- Place it onto a wire rack and allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting. If they’re still warm when you slice them, they're more difficult to cut
- To cut, heat up a kitchen knife by dipping it in very hot water (from the kettle), dry it off with a towel and slice from one end to the other. After each cut, dip the knife back into the hot water, dry it off again and repeat. This allows you to cut perfect squares and also melts the chocolate along the edges as you cut the squares
- Serve as is, on their own, warm or cold, with vegan cream or vegan ice cream
Cakes & Bakes: Peanut butter and jelly brownies
Winter is a time for comfort food and sweet things to keep the energy and spirits up; these peanut butter and jelly brownies are just the ticket!
Chocolate brownies and peanut butter & jelly are American classics; they’ve been combined in this dish to create a gluten-free treat.
This recipe makes 9-12 portions – they’re so dense and sweet, a little goes a long way! Pair it with a cup of coffee or glass of cold milk.
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Peanut butter and jelly brownies
Ingredients
- 200 g/7oz butter
- 200 g/7oz dark chocolate
- 200 g/7oz brown soft sugar
- 3 eggs beaten
- 30 g/1oz ground almonds
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 20 g/¾oz beetroot powder you can omit this if you don't have any
- 40 g/1½oz cocoa powder
- 75 g/2½oz peanut butter smooth or crunchy
- 50 g/1¾oz fruit jelly raspberry or mixed berry are lovely
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/375ºF/Gas mark 5
- Line a 23cm/9" square baking tin with parchment paper
- In a large, heat-proof mixing bowl, melt the butter and chocolate over a pan of just simmering water, stirring until melted and combined. Don't allow the bottom of the bowl to come into contact with the hot water
- Remove from the heat and gently stir in the sugar until dissolved
- Slowly add the whisked eggs to the butter & chocolate mixture, stirring all the while
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds, cornflour, beetroot powder and cocoa
- Add to the chocolate mixture, folding together until evenly combined and smooth
- Pour the mixture into the to the lined baking tin using the back of a spoon to even it out and get it into the corners
- Separately, in a couple of heat/microwave-proof ramekins, gently warm the peanut butter and jelly (either for a few seconds in the microwave or in a small bowl set over a bowl of hot water). Add a few drops of vegetable oil to the peanut butter or water to the jelly if the consistency is too thick to pour
- Use a skewer to swirl the peanut butter and jelly through the chocolate mixture
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the brownies have begun to form a crust around the edges. The middle should still be squidgy
- Allow to cool completely, still in its tin, on a wire rack before lifting out and slicing into squares
Cakes & Bakes: Keto chocolate and almond brownies
We’re off on holiday in a couple of months and I want to lose a few pounds prior to our departure. I’ve gained about 10 unwanted pounds since Fudge became ill and sadly died in December – my daily exercise has dropped to virtually nil. I’m not really one for dieting, but I thought I’d give the Ketogenic plan a go for a while.
I’ve done lots of research about what foods are good and bad and have been finding it pretty easy to stick to so far. Mind you, it’s only been a week! The thing I miss the most is a sugary dessert after dinner. I’ve been allowing myself a couple of chunks of plain dark chocolate each evening, but I’ve had enough. I’ve tweaked an earlier brownie recipe and come up with my own Keto chocolate and almond brownies.
The original recipe used peanut butter, but I fancied trying something different. As such, I made a batch of almond butter – easy… and absolutely delicious! If you fancy another kind of nut butter – other ‘Keto-friendly’ ones include hazelnuts, macadamias, sunflower seeds, tahini and walnuts.
The other main changes I made were swapping the high-carb wheat flour for coconut flour and the caster sugar for pure stevia powder. Lots of people talk about how bitter stevia is – they’re probably using too much of it; it’s 150 times sweeter than cane sugar. The stevia powder I bought came with its own little spoon for adding to tea or coffee – it measures 1⁄32 of a teaspoon! I used less than ½ a teaspoon in the whole batch.
Save my Keto chocolate and almond brownies recipe to Pinterest
- 200g/7oz dark chocolate (85% cocoa solids)
- 175g/6oz of unsalted butter
- 50g/1¾oz chopped or flaked almonds, toasted
- 30g/1oz almond butter (see ingredients & method below)
- 4 eggs
- 50g/1¾oz coconut flour
- ¼tsp pure stevia powder (about ½ a gram ONLY)
- ¼tsp salt
- ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½tsp cream of tartar
- 300g/10½oz whole plain almonds, skins on
- pinch of salt
- tiniest pinch of pure stevia powder (optional)
- 1tbsp coconut oil
- Put the almonds, salt and stevia powder into the bowl of a food processor. Process for 10-15 minutes (yes, that long!) until the mixture turns into an oily, smooth paste
- Add the coconut oil and process for another 1-2 minutes
- Decant the almond butter into a sterilised jar with sealed lid
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6
- Grease a 30 x 20cm (12 x 8 inch) brownie tin and line it with parchment paper
- Put the butter and chocolate into a heat-proof bowl on a saucepan of simmering water over low heat and warm until just melted
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the coconut flour, stevia, salt, bicarb and cream of tartar
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then, using a rubber spatula, stir in the melted chocolate mixture
- Fold in the coconut flour ingredient mixture
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and level out
- Drizzle over the almond butter in 3-4 straight lines, then 'drag' through the almond butter with a skewer or toothpick to create a marbled effect
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the cake is just firm to the touch
- Allow to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes then lift out the block onto a board using the lining paper and cut it into 6-9 squares
- Serve warm or cold; on its own or with thick, full-fat pouring cream
