Spiced Rosemary Sea Salt Brownies {Vegan}
Last week, in part to celebrate my birthday, Marc suggested a last-minute trip to the country – L’Allier, to be more precise. Growing up, Marc spent much of his summers visiting his grandmother who lived in L’Allier, which is about 3 1/2 hours south of Paris. He arrived home by 5pm on Thursday and by 8pm, we had already rented a car and were on our way. I love when things just organically fall into place.
We stayed the night in Orleans and arrived to our Chambre d’Hôte in Epineuil-le-Fleuriel late Saturday morning. We arrived to a beautiful old flour mill, and while the mill is no longer in operation, the owners, who are fifth generation, have invested a great deal of time in the upkeep of the property. There were so many old buildings with different textures that I was a bit trigger happy with the camera. Our little house was lovely, with a fireplace that we used to stay warm, and tranquil surroundings, with sheep passing by the window off the kitchen, a female peacock perched on the windowsill and a somewhat friendly swan who was protecting her pond, on the backside of the mill. The trip was perfect – long drives, farmers markets, fresh bread and a myriad of weather, typical to the month of March, referred to in France as “le mois des fous.” On Saturday evening, we went for a walk because the light was amazing and just before the rain began, an epic rainbow appeared. That night I dreamt I was painting rainbows across the sky! All is all, a lovely ending to a charming weekend in the country.
Coming back to Paris, I immediately missed the peace and quiet and clean air. But I spent some of my week looking through cookbooks and scouring the web, looking for new recipes. Thanks to FeedFeed, I stumbled on the following recipe – Spiced Rosemary Sea Salt Brownies, which I altered slightly, making it vegan, using less sugar (coconut) and swapping out some of the coconut oil with applesauce, which is a great way to keep cakes moist and lower in fat. There are often moments when I want to make a chocolate cake, but if I’m short on time, brownies tend to be less labor-intensive. These brownies are very rich and pack a bit of a “cayenne” punch so I recommend cutting them in small-ish squares when serving. You can also omit the rosemary. Enjoy!
Spiced Rosemary Sea Salt Brownies {Vegan}
INGREDIENTS
5 Tbsps virgin coconut oil
5 Tbsps applesauce
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder (dutch processed or raw)
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 pinches of cayenne pepper (1 pinch of this is your first time trying spicy brownies!)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 flax “eggs”
1/2 cup spelt flour
Sea Salt flakes to top (fleur de sel is perfect for this recipe)
1/8 cup melted dark chocolate
METHOD
Preheat the oven at 325F. Grease an 8-inch brownie pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Dust 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder on the pan making sure to coat all sides.
Combine the coconut oil, applesauce, coconut sugar, maple syrup, cocoa powder, rosemary, cayenne, and salt in a bowl and fit it on top of a pot with simmering water (water shouldn’t touch the bowl). Let the steam warm the bowl (double boiler style) and stir until the coconut oil melts and the mix is smooth, make sure the sugar dissolves well. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and set aside.
While the cocoa mix is still warm (not hot! just warm to the touch), transfer to a larger bowl and add flax eggs and whisk until the batter is smooth and shiny. Once ready, add the flour in one go and stir until combined.
Place batter in prepared baking pan and bake for about 20-25 min, or until a toothpick comes out with moist batter. NOTE: you shouldn’t cook them ALL the way through or they’ll be super dry, a touch underdone is best. Let them cool, remove from pan, and cut in squares.
Drizzle squares with melted chocolate, and sprinkle with sea salt.
RECIPE ADAPTED FROM FOOD52 & THE ARTFUL DESPERADO
- 5 Tbsps virgin coconut oil
- 5 Tbsps applesauce
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder (dutch processed or raw)
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 pinches of cayenne pepper (1 pinch of this is your first time trying spicy brownies!)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 flax "eggs"
- ½ cup spelt flour
- Sea Salt flakes to top (fleur de sel is perfect for this recipe)
- ⅛ cup melted dark chocolate
- Preheat the oven at 325F. Grease an 8inch brownie pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Dust 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder on the pan making sure to coat all sides.
- Combine the coconut oil, applesauce, coconut sugar, maple syrup, cocoa powder, rosemary, cayenne, and salt in a bowl and fit it on top of a pot with simmering water (water shouldn’t touch the bowl). Let the steam warm the bowl (double boiler style) and stir until the coconut oil melts and the mix is smooth, make sure the sugar dissolves well. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and set aside.
- While the cocoa mix is still warm (not hot! just warm to the touch), transfer to a larger bowl and add flax eggs and whisk until the batter is smooth and shiny. Once ready, add the flour in one go and stir until combined.
- Place batter in prepared baking pan and bake for about 20-25 min, or until a toothpick comes out with moist batter. NOTE: you shouldn’t cook them ALL the way through or they’ll be super dry, a touch underdone is best. Let them cool, remove from pan, and cut in squares.
- Drizzle squares with melted chocolate, and sprinkle with sea salt.
4 Comments