chocolate brownies

chocolate brownies
makes 16-20 squares

You may think these are ‘stretching the friendship’ in the healthy snack arena. But I’ve included these brownies because they are absolutely delicious. They’re also super rich and squidgy which means it can be easy to practice ‘moderation’ and limit yourself to one small square. They’re also gluten-free and are sweetened with honey rather than sugar.

300mL (1 1/4 cups) whipping cream
200g (7oz) dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, chopped
100g (3.5oz) honey
2 eggs
130g (4oz) pecans, chopped

1. Preheat your oven to 150C (300F). Line the base and sides of a loaf pan with baking paper or foil.

2. Place about half the cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add chocolate chunks. Stand for a few minutes.

3. When the chocolate has melted, stir the mixture then add the honey. Stir in the remaining cream and add the eggs, one at a time. Finish by stirring in the pecans.

4. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the brownies feel firm on the sides but still a little wobbly in the middle.

5. Cool in the tin then refrigerate for a few hours before chopping into tiny squares.

prepare ahead?

A must! These brownies are best if they’ve had a night in the fridge to firm up before cutting and serving.

leftover potential

Brilliant. Will keep in the fridge for over a week.

variations for fun

vegan – replace the cream with coconut milk and replace the honey with brown sugar. And instead of the eggs, mash two ripe bananas and stir through the melted chocolate.

dairy-free – replace the cream with coconut milk or other non-dairy milk such as soy or oat milk.

nut-free – just skip the nuts or replace with 4-5 tablespoons of oat bran for some interesting texture.

egg-free – replace the eggs with two ripe mashed bananas.

budget – replace the honey with white sugar and skip the nuts. Consider using a chocolate with a lower cocoa solids content but try and keep it to 50% or above.

problem solving guide

brownies not setting / difficult to cut – sound like they’re a little underbaked, Make sure you chill them well in the fridge or freezer to get them to firm up.

chocolate ‘splitting’ – if the melted chocolate splits or goes all grainy looking, this means it’s been exposed to too high a temperature. Quickly stir in the cold cream and the eggs and this should bring it back to normal. Although if it doesn’t there’s not much you can do. Next time make sure the cream only just simmers before removing from the heat and adding the chocolate.

not chocolatey enough – next time use a better quality chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids.

short on time? – turn these into ‘no bake’ brownies by skipping the eggs and honey and allowing the mixture to chlll for an hour or so in the freezer.

serving suggestions

Serve in small squares on their own.
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