Decadent Brownies
Decadent Brownies are exactly what the name suggests they are, they are brownies that are even more decadent than regular brownies due to the addition of our secret ingredient.
Well it’s not really a secret ingredient as such, well not anymore…. Our Decadent Brownies contain one extra ingredient that propels the humble Brownie way beyond it’s already decadent nature.
Brownies were thought to have originated in Chigago in 1893. Legend has it that Bertha Palmer, a prominent socialite, whose husband was the owner of the Palmer House Hotel, had asked a Pastry Chef to create a mini cake-like dessert that could be included in boxed lunches, that would be suitable for ladies attending the World’s Columbian Exposition. The result would become the Palmer House Hotel Brownie and contained chocolate, walnuts, and had an apricot glaze.
The brownie continued to be adapted and the recipe that closest resembles the brownies we make today was given the name the Bangor Brownie as it is attributed to a housewife from Bangor, Maine who discovered that if you add an extra egg and an extra square of chocolate you will create a richer and fudgier brownie.
For decades Pastry Chefs and home bakers have attempted to improve an already perfect recipe by seeking out that one ingredient that will raise their brownies to super status, well, we may have discovered it.
We here at Maison Bonhomie take this a little step further. We use only chocolate with a minimum cocoa mass of 70%, and the stem ginger and walnuts in this recipe really give it character, but it is our secret ingredient that propels these brownies to new levels of decadence; that secret ingredient is actually a Superfood! Sweet potato purée. Yes sweet potato. How does that make the brownie more decadent I hear you ask?
Aside from improving the texture of the brownie the addition of sweet potato raises the natural sugar level so that the sweetness isn’t just coming from refined sugar, it is coming from natural sugars found in the sweet potato. Next I hear you ask, how is that decadent if you are making the brownie healthier?
Well, yes we have made the brownie a little healthier than it was without losing any chocolaty goodness or soft texture, which means you can have another Decadent Brownie without the guilt; what could be more decadent than that?
Decadent Brownies
Equipment
- Electronic digital scales
- Electric Mixer
- Food processor or a hand blender
- 20.5 cm x 20.5 cm cake tin 8 inch square
- Pastry Card optional
- Cooling Rack optional
Ingredients
- 1 Large Sweet Potato approx 280g puree [ 9 ounces]
- 125 gram Unsalted Butter [4.4 ounces]
- 250 gram Dark Chocolate, chopped roughly [8 3/4 ounce] divided use a minimum of 70% cocoa . I've used 80%
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 Egg Yolk use the white elsewhere
- 200 grams Light Brown Sugar [ 1 cup]
- 2 teaspoon good quality pure vanilla extract
- 100 grams Self Raising Flour [1/2 cup]
- 1 Ball Stem Ginger chopped finely
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Stem ginger liquid from the jar
- 95 grams Crushed walnuts [3.35 ounces]
- Zest of one whole orange approx 7-9 grams
Instructions
Sweet Potato
- Preheat oven to 200C degrees [390F]. Leave the sweet potato whole and skin on. Prick the skin a few times with the tip of a sharp knife. Pop the potato into a small baking dish and bake for one hour plus, or until soft inside.
- Remove from the oven to cool. When cool enough to handle, slice open the top, scoop out the flesh and puree either in a food processor or use a hand blender. You'll want approximately 280g of puree. Set aside
Brownies
- Gather and weigh your ingredients
- Preheat the oven to 190c degrees [375F] Line the baking tin with greaseproof paper and set aside.
- Put the butter and 200g of the chopped chocolate into a flameproof mixing bowl, set atop a small saucepan of simmering water, until it is just melted. Remove from the heat, mix well and set aside for 10 minutes or so. When the mixture has cooled, whisk in the eggs, the egg yolk, sugar, sweet potato puree, stem ginger juice and vanilla extract until well combined. No need to over mix this.
- Sift the flour and cocoa over the bowl of wet mix and add a pinch of fine sea salt. Add the finely chopped stem ginger, the remaining 50g of chocolate, the zest and crushed walnuts. Using the pastry card fold in until combined then scrape the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for about 30+ minutes- until it is set, but still a bit squidgy to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly on a cooling rack in the tin before cutting into squares.
