Jan’s Chris’ Birthday Brownie

Adapted from a Rebecca Katz ‘The Longevity Kitchen’ recipe 

Son-in-law Chris’s birthday is this week, so Jan decided to bake him a brownie cake to go with my Moroccan feast. Chocolate brownie cake may not be Moroccan, but Chris loves Chocolate.  Sacrifices must be made.

Note: Chris is not five as the candles would suggest. There was something about ten’s and one’s columns.

This started as a recipe from this week’s Mercury News food section. However, Chris is still on his ketogenic diet, so Jan had to change a few things. She got rid of the starch, but she kept at least some of the sugar, so it came out more Paleo then keto, but a brownie should be at least a little sweet.

Jan replaced the rice flour with coconut flour. She though the use of olive oil was a strange choice, so she used butter instead. I am also allergic to walnuts, so she replaced those with almonds. Finally, since there is never enough chocolate, she added ground nibs to the mix.

After Dinner Note: The cake was tasty, but a bit crumbly. Jan suggested that doubling the eggs to four would overcome this defect. Chris took most of the little that was left home—hey, it was his birthday cake. I think he really liked it.

Jan’s Chris’ Birthday Brownie

Ingredients

1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbs. chocolate nibs, ground
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. sea salt

8 oz. Theo’s dark chocolate, chopped, divided
1/3 cup butter, melted

4 eggs, lightly scrambled
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

½ cup toasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

2.  Make a bottom-liner for a 9-inch square baking pan.

Tip: Take the pan and lay it right side up on a sheet of parchment paper. Use a pencil to trace the bottom of the pan. Cut just inside the line and place the lining in the bottom of the pan.

3. Spray Pam on the sides of the pan and the lining.

4. In a medium bowl, stir the almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, nibs, cinnamon, baking soda and salt with a whisk to combine.

5. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring often, just until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the melted butter. Let the mixture cool slightly

Tip: You do not want the hot melted chocolate to cook the eggs when you add it.

6. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until frothy.

7. Slowly whisk the maple syrup and vanilla into the egg mixture.

8. Gradually add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk vigorously until smooth and glossy

9. Whisk in the dry ingredients and beat for one minute to combine thoroughly.

10. Fold in the almonds.

11. Scrape batter into the prepared pan.

Tip: Tapping and shaking the pan should smooth the top of the batter.

12. Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

13. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

14. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to free the sides and turn the brownie cake out onto a wire rack.

Tip: The parchment paper lining prevents the cake from sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the paper sticks to the bottom of the cake it is easily peeled off.

15. Turn the cake right side up and cool completely before serving.