I have begun experimenting with baking with alternative flours to meet certain dietary restrictions. My latest creation uses Cassava flour. It is wheat free and NUT free! Which is great, because my nephew has a severe nut allergy and most of the alternatives to wheat flour contain nuts. So, this is huge! I decided to start with a salted coconut caramel brownie! Wheat free, dairy free, refined sugar free, but sadly not calorie free, decadent treat!
This recipe was take two for me. The first batch was still yummy, just a little drier in texture than I would have liked. I did read somewhere that Cassava flour sucks up moisture, so adjusted that, plus added more moisture to get this result.
Honestly, these are damn good brownies, dietary restrictions or not. They are fudgy, intense, just the right amount of sweetness, without going overboard and highly addictive! Did you know that if you just take one small bite of the brownie and put it down, then come back and take another, then another, it’s like you ate the whole thing and then some! 😉 Seriously though, addictive little mothers!! As I stood there, taking small bite after small bite, I had to laugh. Does anyone else remember that Sex in the City episode where Miranda made the chocolate cake? She would walk into the kitchen, take a little bite, then neatly cover the cake back up and walk out of the kitchen. Then a few minutes later walk back in, unwrap and take a dainty bite. This process repeated itself a few more times until she finally threw the cake in the trash and walked out. The next shot is of Miranda back in the kitchen, eating garbage cake!! So hilarious! Finally, to stop herself from dumpster diving, she squirts dish soap all over the cake! So good! I promise you, I was not eating out of the trash…. or was I? No, these are way too good to throw away! Plus, they are made with wholesome, un-refined sugar, almost every dietary restriction compliant, ingredients, so you don’t have to feel too guilty about indulging. I mean, that is what is so wonderful about desserts! You certainly don’t need them to sustain life, but what would life be without these beautiful little pleasures! I can’t help you though if you eat the whole lot of them! You are on your own there.
Back to these wholesome ingredients. I use Otto’s Cassava flour, you can get here. Whole foods has it too. Then, I sweetened with coconut sugar and my new favorite natural sweetener, D’vashes Date Nectar. It is so delicious and made with nothing but dates! It has a nice caramelly finish and is perfect in these chocolate treats! These are a rich dark chocolate brownie, to make these Paleo friendly you have to use at least 70% chocolate. Dark chocolate has all the health benefits, without all the sugar! For the coconut salted caramel sauce, I pulled from Downshiftology Blog, be sure to check out her other healthy eats! It really is delicious, but it does take 40 minutes to cook down. It’s worth it though! I used this to top off the brownies as they cool. Perfect pairing and makes them ooey, gooey and decadent. I’ll say it again, I would take these over any dairy laden, wheat packed, refined sugar brownies any day!
Hope you will give these a try. Disclaimer though, you may not be able to stop at just one!
Enjoy!
- ¾ cup Otto's Cassava Flour
- ¼ cup ghee melted
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup date nectar I use D'vash (can sub, maple syrup, honey, coconut nectar)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 4oz dark chocolate (at least 70% for Paleo)
- 1 cup coconut caramel sauce
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and line and 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and baking spray. Lay the parchment in two alternating directions so some of the paper hangs over the sides. This will make them easy to remove from pan. Set aside.
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium heat proof bowl. Add the coconut oil and ghee. Place in the microwave and microwave on high for 30 second intervals until the chocolate, oil and ghee are completely melted. Set aside to cool .
- In a large bowl, add the cassava flower, sift the cocoa powder into bowl, add the salt, baking powder, espresso powder and whisk to combine.
- In another bowl mix the eggs, coconut sugar and date nectar until combined.
- Pour sugar and egg mixture into your dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon to incorporate.
- Next add the melted chocolate mixture and combine until all ingredients are combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth gently to even distribute. Place in oven on the middle rack and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The top of the brownies will be slightly puffed, a little shiny and some cracks will form. Toothpick inserted should come out with a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool completely on rack in pan. While the brownies are cooling, pour the caramel sauce (as much or as little as you desire) over the top of the brownies and top with course sea salt.
- Remove completely cooled brownies from pan and place on cutting board. Slice brownies into squares. Store covered at room temp for a day or covered in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- Enjoy!
[…] Date Nectar. All-natural sweetener made only with dates. I have used it as the sweetener in my Paleo Salted Caramel Brownies and they are delicious. Well, D’Vash just came out with a new variation of their date nectar! […]