These delicious brownies, made with almond flour and warm spices, are gluten-free. They are super-chocolately and very tender, and the warm spices give just the right background note. This is a perfect destination for ras el hanout spice blend (make your own or buy it), but you can also use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves instead.
These are delicious served with homemade whipped cream enhanced with a bit of either ground ginger or ground cinnamon.
You can find Dutch-process cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark) at Cronig’s.
Makes 9 to 12 brownies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
- 2/3 cup cane or coconut (white) sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ras el hanout (or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon kosher salt if not using ras el hanout)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs, well beaten
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Butter parchment as well.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, almond flour, spices and salt, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.
4. In another small bowl, whisk together the eggs, fresh ginger, and vanilla.
4. Melt the chocolate with the butter in a saucepan over boiling water. Stir until the butter and chocolate are well mixed.
5. Remove from the heat, let cool just slightly, and stir in both the egg mixture and the almond flour-spice mixture. With a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, mix until just combined; do not overmix. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared buttered baking dish.
6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out evenly coated with chocolate crumbs. For fudgier brownies, pull them out when the center is just about set and the cake tester still has a bit of batter clinging to it. The brownies will finish setting as they cool.
7. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan for 20 or 30 minutes. Cut into 2-3” squares and serve.
