Okay, so I decided to give those gluten-free brownies a shot, the Nigella way, you know? Been meaning to try a good GF recipe for a while now.
Getting Started
First things first, I got the oven heating up. Standard stuff, around 180C, maybe 160C fan? Can’t quite recall, just turned the dial to the usual brownie spot. Then, lined my trusty square baking tin with baking paper. Made sure the paper came up the sides – makes lifting the whole thing out later way easier.
Next, I pulled out all the bits and pieces. Needed some good dark chocolate, butter (a decent amount!), sugar, eggs, and the gluten-free part – I used a standard GF flour blend I had in the cupboard. Some folks use ground almonds, but I just went with the flour mix this time. Oh, and a pinch of salt, always need salt with chocolate.
Melting and Mixing
I broke up the chocolate into a bowl with the butter. Didn’t bother with a double boiler, just popped it in the microwave. Did it in short bursts, stirring in between, so it wouldn’t burn. Got it nice and smooth, eventually. Left that aside to cool down a bit – don’t want scrambled eggs!
In another bigger bowl, I cracked the eggs. Gave them a good whisk with the sugar. Used my electric hand whisk for this bit, saves some elbow grease. Whisked it up until it looked pale and a bit thicker. Nothing too crazy, just enough to get some air in there.
Bringing it Together
Alright, time to combine. I poured the slightly cooled, melted chocolate and butter mixture into the egg and sugar mix. Gently folded that in with a spatula. Didn’t want to knock all the air out I’d just whisked in.
Then came the dry stuff. Dumped in the gluten-free flour blend and the pinch of salt. Folded that in too, just until it was combined. The batter looked pretty thick and glossy, which seemed about right for brownies.
Quick note: I almost forgot vanilla! Added a splash right at the end. Also tossed in a handful of chopped walnuts I had lying around. Why not, right?
Baking and Cooling
Poured the whole lot into the lined tin. Spread it out evenly with the spatula. Then into the preheated oven it went.
Now, the waiting game. Think it took around 25 minutes, maybe 30? I checked it by poking a skewer into the middle. Wanted it to come out with some moist crumbs attached, not completely clean (that means it’s overbaked and dry) but definitely not wet batter.
Pulled it out and the kitchen smelled amazing. Left it to cool completely in the tin. This part is super important, especially with gluten-free stuff, it needs time to set properly or it just falls apart when you try to cut it.
The Result
Once it was totally cool, I lifted the whole slab out using the baking paper edges. Cut it into squares. They looked pretty good! Nice cracked top.
Taste-wise? Pretty decent! They were definitely fudgy, which is what I look for in a brownie. Rich chocolate flavour. You could tell they were gluten-free, maybe a slightly different texture than usual, a little denser perhaps, but not in a bad way. The walnuts added a nice crunch.
Overall, a successful bake. They disappeared pretty quickly, so that’s always a good sign. Would I make them again? Yeah, probably. It’s a solid recipe if you need a gluten-free option that actually tastes like a proper brownie.