Chestnut Flour Brownies (grain-free, gluten-free)

Two weeks ago, I told the story of why I'm experimenting with chestnut flour, so I won't replicate that information here. But that went well enough to keep going, and I had this brownie recipe as a must-try. This is absolutely hands down the best alternative brownie recipe I have made. Great flavor, great texture, nothing sacrificed, and in fact the flavor of the chestnut flour may even be an improvement. I can't get over how good these are.

 

Chestnut Brownies

(This recipe comes from the gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, as seen on Chocolate and Marrow)

 

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter
• 8 oz (230 g) bittersweet chocolate (60–70% cacao mass), chopped (about 11⁄2 cups)
• 1⁄2 cup (50 g) chestnut flour
• 2 tbsp (15 g) tapioca flour
• 
3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3⁄4 cup (150 g) organic granulated cane sugar
• 1⁄2 tsp fine sea salt
• 
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with 2 crisscrossed pieces of parchment paper cut to fit widthwise, leaving an overhang on each side. This will make the brownies easy to remove from the pan.
2. Place the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over the lowest possible heat.* Add the chocolate and let melt together, stirring frequently to prevent the chocolate from scorching. Continue cooking until the mixture is pleasantly warm, but not super hot, to the touch. Remove from the heat and keep warm. Sift the chestnut and tapioca flours into a small bowl and set aside (chestnut flour tends to clump, so don’t skip this step).
3. Meanwhile, place the eggs, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy, 5 minutes.** Turn the mixer to low and stir in the vanilla until just combined, then the warm chocolate-butter mixture. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a flexible silicone spatula to give the batter a final stir by hand, scraping the bottom of the bowl and making sure all the flour is incorporated.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake the brownies until the top is puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 24–30 minutes, taking care not to overbake. Let the brownies cool completely, then use the parchment handles to lift them out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Use a sharp chef ’s knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean between each cut to slice the brownies into 16 squares.
5. The brownies keep well, airtight at room temperature, for up to 3 days, or refrigerated for up to 5 days.

*I did this in the microwave at 50% power because I'm not going to risk burning good chocolate!
**Don't skip this time, at last 5 minutes.