Flourless Chocolate Brownies

So truth be told, I was aiming for flourless chocolate cake with this recipe. The silky smooth, rich kind that melts in your mouth like chocolate ganache. In celebration of my birthday this week, I wanted to try my hand at baking something new, a little decadent and of course chocolatey. Enter the flourless chocolate cake, the stuff dreams are made of.

My boyfriend and I mixed up a batch this past weekend using my own combo of ingredients. I carefully cut a small triangle slice, pulled out my camera to take some photos… but something was just not working with this cake slice. A dozen shots later, I still couldn’t lock onto a good cake pic no matter how I adjusted the lighting, the settings, the colors.

What is missing? What can I do to make you work better? (yes, I talk to my food like this :))

A sudden thought: try cutting it into squares. I did so and immediately it hit me – Brownies!! OF COURSE! These totally work better as brownies, they even taste like brownies! In fact, I probably would have realized this sooner had I not been so focused on a specific outcome.

So voila! — I have a flourless cake brownie recipe for you!

As a side note, I’m no stranger to grain-free desserts and grain-free baking. I’ve tried many an almond and coconut flour recipe from cookbooks and food blogs over the past couple years and while most of these grain-free concoctions were fairly good, I think this one has the best fudgy taste. The ingredients are simple and they digest well. All good stuff.

These brownie bites would also be fab with nuts added into the batter or a cream cheese swirl (YUM).

Happy baking! And here’s to great, unexpected outcomes.

Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Brownies

You will need:

6 oz bittersweet dark chocolate – I used 85% dark – this brand
(Note: The better quality chocolate you use, the more delicious your brownies will be. Choose a brand you love!)

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup cacao powder, unsweetened

1/4 cup maple syrup (adjust and add more if you like sweeter desserts)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8-inch baking pan and line it with parchment paper.

2. Break up your chocolate into pieces. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over the stovetop.

3. Remove from heat and whisk in your maple syrup, vanilla, eggs and cacao powder. Whisk until combined.

4. Pour batter into your parchment-lined pan and bake in oven until a nice crust forms on top – (about 30 – 40 minutes).

5. Allow cake to cool, then slice into brownie squares. Serve with berries, cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce or other toppings.

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