Flourless Brownies
I was in search of a chewy brownies recipe for two days. I love my usual brownies recipe because it's soft and dense and perfectly rich. But I find it too sweet sometimes.
Yesterday I checked some of my usual sources of recipes, and found the perfect one from David Lebovitz, his gluten-free brownies. The recipe has no flour in it, instead it uses a bit (as in super-bit) of cornstarch. So instead of using the title gluten-free brownies, I decided to use the word "flourless", because the brownies are flourless.
So what's gluten? Here is the definition from Wikipedia.com:
Gluten (from Latin gluten, "glue") is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye. It gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often gives the final product a chewy texture.Apparently, some people are allergic (or their body reacts badly) to gluten. From Wikipedia.com:
Gluten sensitivity (also gluten intolerance) is a spectrum of disorders, including celiac disease and wheat allergy, in which gluten has an adverse effect on the body. It can be defined as a non-allergic and non-autoimmune condition in which the consumption of gluten can lead to symptoms similar to those observed in celiac disease or wheat allergy (other conditions which fall under the gluten-related disorders spectrum).
Symptoms of gluten sensitivity may include bloating, abdominal discomfort, pain, or diarrhea; or it may present with a variety of extraintestinal symptoms including headaches and migraines, lethargy and tiredness, attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivity, muscular disturbances as well as bone and joint pain.I don't think I react badly to gluten, so it really doesn't matter if I cook gluten-full or gluten-free food. :) But the brownies recipe from David Lebovitz seemed so rich and dark and everything nice! So I gave it a go, and here's the finish product
Seriously, the picture's not doing justice to how good these brownies are! It's as dark, rich, soft and dense as I want them to be... in other words perfect! And it's gluten-free!
I followed the instructions to the T. The mixing/beating part was torture! I decided not to use the mixer and just use my handy-dandy whisk. I beat the batter for more than a minute (I think it was even more than two minutes) until the batter was smooth. My arm felt like it was about to fell off! But better safe than sorry for not beating it too well. :)
I didn't add nuts to the brownies... my husband and I do not like nuts in brownies. Instead I added a few drops of chocolate chips on top before baking.
If you want to try out this recipe, visit David Lebovitz's site and check out his Gluten-Free Brownies. Read more...
