{Another Chocolatey One} Crackly Brownies

I swear I wasn’t sneaking the odd piece here and there…

I once had an obsession; I wanted to bake brownies like Betty Crocker just without a box mix.

But you know those pouches of liquid Hershey’s fudge you get with the premium brownie mixes? You can’t beat the excitement of ripping it open. It’s like receiving a hand written letter. There’s no way around it.

So instead of trying to make a longer process seem more enticing than Betty Crocker’s one-box-one-bowl-one-PERFECT-tray brownies I’ll just cut to the chase. Betty, I love you, you’re inspiring, but I think you’re losing your touch. Sorry I had to say that, maybe I’m just upset because there’s no gorgeous gluten free version of Betty’s mix. That’s it. Throw a tantrum, make these brownies and be happy Miette wrote a book.

So what’s one gluten-filled dessert you wish you could un-glutenify? I think Mine would be cannoli. There are recipes out there; I just need to get those tube things for frying. And maybe croissants. But for the sake of fitting into interview clothes, I might hold off the pound of butter for now.

I miss going to work. Is that weird? I probably won’t be saying this if I had a job. But I’ll only know it if I did. Which I don’t. Hence, rambling.

Vicky, out.

No stand mixer for me; old school hand held all the way!

Crackly Brownies (adapted from Miette)

1 cup GF flour blend
1 tsp baking powder
1 pound of 70% couverture chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, unsalted
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
5 large eggs, room temperature

1) Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a 9 x 13inch baking tray with parchment and grease well. [I didn't have a pan on hand so I used a round cake tin]

2) In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a bain marie or in a microwave, medium power, 45 second bursts until melted through. Stir well and leave to cool.

3) In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until double in volume. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture in a steady stream down the side of the bowl while the whisk is running on low speed. Add in the vanilla. Once the chocolate if fully incorporated, using a spatula, fold in the flour until just mixed through. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove from oven and allow to cool immediately (I would put it in an ice bath or in front of a fan).

4) Refrigerate to set before slicing into squares.You may wish to spread a layer of ganache over it if you’d like to be sent into a chocolate induced coma. It’s great.

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