Banana Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze (SRC)

Secret Recipe Club reveal day seems to have come around very quickly this month, which is a bit of a worry because that means it is exactly 3 weeks today until we move and there is SO much still to do!

Luckily Lynn from my assigned blog for this month Turnips 2 Tangerines has provided lots of inspiration for snacks to keep us going amidst all the boxes and associated clutter.

I was excited to learn that Lynn is from Wisconsin as that is where I spent a very happy semester finishing my law degree at Marquette University in Milwaukee. I have so many great food memories from my time there including buttery chargrilled corn at Summerfest, visiting Bella's Fat Cat for frozen custard and enjoying brats on the grill at a 4th of July picnic (oh and the brats MUST be cooked in beer first before being grilled for best results).

I spent ages on Lynn's blog and lots of recipes caught my eye. Lynn's Chicago Style Hot Dog looked just like what I remember but unfortunately we can't get any of those authentic ingredients here in Australia. I also drooled over her Popcorn and Peanut Mix which my boys would love and these Gingerbread Scones with Maple Syrup Glaze sound amazing and very Christmassy.

But if you have spent any time here you will know we love bananas and peanut butter so when I came across Lynn's Banana Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze the search was over.

Now I was in Wisconsin during summer and it was gorgeous but in her post for these brownies Lynn mentions the high for the day was going to be -5. That's -20 degrees Celsius and so cold I can't even imagine it! Where I live it is considered freezing if the maximum doesn't go above about 15.

You really can't go wrong with a combination of chocolate, banana and peanut butter and these brownies don't disappoint. Moist and sweet and completely moreish, my boys devoured these and they were all gone in a day.  Perfect for afternoon tea with a big glass of milk.

We only had medium peanut butter so my glaze wasn't smooth but the little bit of extra crunch just added to the deliciousness.

Banana Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze
Adapted from Turnips 2 Tangerines

For the brownies:
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup coconut sugar
3 tbs raw cacao
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ts vanilla extract
1/2 cup gluten free flour
1 ts baking powder
1/4 t salt (I used salted butter so left this out)
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (I used 2 small bananas)
1/2 cup 85% dark chocolate roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 11 x 7 baking pan and set aside.

In large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cacao, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, eggs, mashed banana and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and fold through. Stir in the chocolate.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake.

Once cooled, pour over the glaze. 

For the glaze:
1/2 cup 70% dark chocolate roughly choppped
2 tbs natural peanut butter
1 tbs rice malt syrup
pinch salt

In a small pan over low heat, combine the chocolate, syrup and peanut butter. Stir until smooth and immediately pour over the brownies and smooth the top.

Thanks for a great recipe Lynn, it has become a family favourite!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Fudgy (almost) Grain-free Chocolate Brownies

I have been on the search for the perfect 'healthy' brownie for more than a year now. I've tried literally dozens of recipes, and a few of them have actually been pretty good like this Healthier Chocolate Brownie.

But I still hadn't found one I was completely happy with in terms of both taste and ingredients. Until now. This brownie recipe comes from Eat Drink Paleo where Irena describes them as the brownies that blew her away. And now that I've made them I completely agree!

Now my husband would say that the best part of a brownie is the crispy edges but I actually prefer the fudgy middle and that's what these brownies deliver unlike so many others.

My kids loved these and they disappeared so quickly I barely had a chance to take a photo. They had no idea there was sweet potato in them, and you certainly can't taste it, but that must be what makes the texture so fudgy and delicious.

The only change I made was to use rice malt syrup instead of honey. This makes them fructose free but no longer paleo as rice is obviously a grain, hence the (almost) grain-free of the title!

These would make a fabulous dessert served with berries and coconut cream or dairy-free ice-cream but we had them simply dusted with extra cacao powder.

The original recipe said to bake for 25-30 minutes but this made my first batch too dry so second time around I baked for just 20 minutes and they were perfect.

Fudgy (almost) Grain-free Chocolate Brownies 
Slightly adapted from Eat Drink Paleo

1 medium sweet potato (approx 2-3 cups grated)
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
2 ts vanilla extract
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1 ts baking powder
1 ts bicarbonate of soda
2 1/2 tbs coconut flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 160 degrees fan-forced. Grease and line an 8 inch square baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, place the sweet potato, eggs, vanilla, syrup and coconut oil and mix together until well combined. Next stir through the cacao, baking powder and bicarb soda, and then add the coconut flour mixing until only just combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tray and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from the tin. Serve dusted with extra cacao powder and some berries.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

I love an old-fashioned cake stall and remember them fondly from childhood. There were always cupcakes, anzac biscuits, coconut ice and little toffees with hundreds and thousands on the top. A sugarholics dream!

There is an open day at Oscar's kindy on the weekend and I couldn't pass up the chance to bake something delicious to give to the cake stall. I'm not baking like this for us much lately but it was so much fun to do it and give it all away!

After much deliberation I decided on my Triple Chocolate Brownies and some hundreds & thousands biscuits, figuring they would go down a treat with the kids and parents alike. I will post the recipe for the bikkies later but today, it's all chocolate baby!

Triple Chocolate Brownies

1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
120 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips (reserve a few tbs to scatter over the top)
120 grams dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C / 140 degrees fan-forced.

Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter and line the bottom with baking paper. Butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

Whisk the flour and salt together and set aside.

Place the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Once the butter has melted, sift the cocoa over the top and stir until combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Using a whisk beat the eggs into the butter/cocoa mix one at a time. Next, whisk in the sugar and vanilla until smooth. Switch to a spatula and fold through the flour, salt, dark chocolate and most of the white chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the pan. Scatter over the remaining white chocolate chips so it looks pretty.

Bake for 30 minutes. The brownies will still be gooey but the top will be dry and papery. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely. Cut into desired size (I do 12 pieces).

Baking with Julia - Best-Ever Brownies

It's no secret I fell in love with brownies through baking with Tuesdays with Dorie. Before that I thought they were chocolatey but kind of blah. So I was really keen to see how a recipe called 'Best-Ever Brownies' would compare with what I had made previously!

Whether they were amazing or not we definitely didn't need a whole batch sitting around, especially so close to Christmas, so I made 1/4 of the recipe in a mini loaf tin. My altered recipe is below.

The taste test ...

While I wouldn't say it's the best ever, it was pretty good! I overcooked my little brownie but the very middle was perfect - fudgy and gooey and just divine with a dollop of double cream. The ends were a little drier but still in a good dense chocolate cake kind of way. My photo in no way does it justice but at 8pm under fluorescent light that's the best I'm going to get!

Best-Ever Mini Brownie

1/3 cup plain flour
pinch salt
60g unsalted butter
45g dark chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 ts vanilla extract
1 large egg   

Follow the method as per Baking with Julia p 331. Bake in a mini loaf pan at 180 degrees celsius for approx 16 minutes until firm around the edges and squoodgy in the middle. I gave mine 20 minutes and it was overdone so a few minutes less ie. 16 mins should be pretty close.

Our host this week is Monica of A Beautiful Mess so make sure you check out the original recipe!

Easy Nutella Brownie Bites

My husband (aka the chocolate fiend) loves nutella and will quite often be seen eating it out of the jar by the thick, fudgy spoonful. Having just bought a few jars on special I was determined to actually make something with it this time. And then I stumbled across these incredibly decadent but oh so easy brownie bites.

They were originally called 3 ingredient brownies with just nutella, flour and eggs, but I can't help tweaking so I added some salt and also vanilla extract to round out the flavour.

The verdict? 10/10. These would be up there with some of the best brownies I've made and for a lot less effort. I managed to freeze a few and after a quick zap in the microwave they were back to brownie perfection. They would be sensational smooshed up through vanilla ice cream as well. Yum!

Nutella Brownie Bites
Makes 12. Adapted from various sources including Laura's Sweet Spot

1 cup Nutella
1/2 heaped cup plain flour
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees fan-forced). Line a muffin tray with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the nutella, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Sprinkle over the flour and salt and mix until just combined. Spoon evenly into the prepared tray and bake for 12 minutes.

Allow to cool to room temperature before removing from the tray and the paper cases. Just try to stop at one!

Oscar has definitely inherited his father's sweet tooth and couldn't wait for a taste.

Best Ever Brownies with Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream

It was Father's Day here in Australia yesterday, so belated good wishes for all the amazing dads out there!

We didn't really have the best weekend, with 3 out of 4 of us coming down with a bad cold and cough, and poor Charlie had conjunctivitis as well. Needless to say there were no fun father's day activities to be had, unless you count hubby and Oscar going to the library and to Coles to pick up a few essentials. Oh well, there's always next year!

In spite of feeling like crap I still cooked up a storm, doing toasted ham and cheese croissants for breakfast, this creamy prawn curry with naan for dinner and of course a yummy dessert.

You really can't go wrong with chocolate for my husband. He is the ultimate chocoholic! So what better for a decadent Father's Day dessert than these amazing fudgy brownies topped with a spicy chocolate ice cream?

I spotted this ice cream recipe in The Perfect Scoop on my first read flick through. It is a Philadelphia style (no eggs) chocolate ice cream with cinnamon, chili and brandy to give it some kick. I also added the zest of an orange to ramp up the flavour.

The taste test ...

Sensational! Incredibly smooth and luscious but with a bit of a fiery kick at the same time. Hubby said it tasted like Christmas. Adding alcohol to ice cream stops it from setting too hard and I definitely think that's what made the texture so luscious. Served on top of a fudgy chocolate brownie this was a chocoholic's dream. Success.

If there are any chocoholics in your family then you should definitely make these!

Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz p 29

560ml pure cream
50g cocoa powder
150g sugar
85g dark chocolate, chopped
310ml full cream milk
1 ts vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts hot chilli powder
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 tbs brandy

In a large saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the cream, sugar, orange zest and cocoa until it comes to a full rolling boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, whisking until it is completely incorporated. Stir in the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, chilli and brandy. Pour the mix into a blender or food processor and blitz for 30 seconds or until completely smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge and then churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes approx 1 litre.


Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours, p 91

1 cup plain flour
1 tsp salt
250g butter
120g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
60g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees fan-forced). Line the base of a 9 inch square baking pan with baking paper and place on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.

Place a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the butter and chocolate in. Stir frequently until the ingredients are just melted-you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Add the brown sugar and whisk gently just to incorporate it, then remove the bowl from the pan of water. Stir in the vanilla and transfer to a large bowl.

Put the remaining cup of sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium bowl and whisk in the eggs. Switch to a rubber spatula and little by little add half of the sugar-egg mixture to the warm chocolate, stirring very gently without stopping-you don’t want the heat of the chocolate to cook the eggs.

With the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer beat the remaining sugar and eggs on medium-high for about 3 minutes, or until they double in volume. Using a spatula and a light touch, fold the whipped eggs into the chocolate, stopping just short of blending them in completely.

Sprinkle the dry ingredients and the nuts over the batter and delicately fold them in, working only until they disappear. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the top looks dry. Use a thin knife to check for doneness - the brownies should be only just set and quite gooey. (Mine took about 40 minutes to reach this point so just keep an eye on them and keep checking regularly).

Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into pieces while still in the pan. Makes approx 16.

TWD Catchup

Hello? Is anyone still out there?? I'm embarrassed to say it's been over 6 weeks since I last blogged. That's not to say I haven't been baking along at home but life has well and truly gotten in the way of blogging recently. So it's time for another catchup post and another promise to do better this month!

For the 15th of March Lauryn of Bella Baker chose Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins. Love citrus, love currants, love muffins and love Lauryn! These were really tasty and I have a little stash of them in the freezer.


For the 22nd of March Suzy of Suzy Homemaker chose Honey Nut Brownies. I really wasn't sure about these. I like honey on crumpets and in stir fries but that's about it. Still, my MIL gave me a bottle of roasted hazelnut honey which was perfect for this recipe. These had the texture of a chewy gingerbread rather than a brownie but they were pretty tasty and even better on the second day.



On the 5th of April Jessica of Domestic Deep Thought of the Day chose Coffee Ice Cream Tart. Sold! We weren't huge fans of the crust which set rock solid in the freezer but it tasted great. Next time I would just use a crumb crust and go crazy with different filling combinations. Yum!


For the 12th of April Sarah of Teapots and Cakestands chose Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp. I've never actually tried rhubarb and strawberries together before but have been intrigued after seeing it around. The verdict? Delicious! I should have just made a half batch but we ate it for breakfast and dessert over about 3 days and loved it. Definitely a keeper!

So that's it! At this stage I intend to post my Tourtely Apple Tart on Tuesday (gasp!) but as I haven't made it yet we'll just have to wait and see.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Brrr-ownies

This week Karen of Welcome to Our Crazy Blessed Life chose Brrrr-ownies. Basically brownies with mint and since choc-mint is one my favourite combinations I couldn't be happier!

I vaguely remember peppermint patties being around when I was a kid but they were no where to be found now, including at the lolly shop which sells lots of imported sweet treats. Instead I went with a couple of blocks of Lindt Intense Mint chocolate with some extra chocolate chopped up for texture.

Choc-Mint also happens to be my all time favourite ice cream flavour, though I'm usually turned off by the vivid green artificial colouring. I made a full batch of the brownies, ate a few pieces (for quality control of course) and chopped up the rest to be mixed through vanilla ice cream.

The taste test ...

YUM!!!! While the brownies themselves were ooey-gooey and fabulous, mixed through ice cream it was sensational! The peppermint flavour intensified and I loved the chewy chocolatey chunks. It was very hard to stop at one bowl.

Thanks for a great pick Karen! You can find the recipe at Welcome to Our Crazy Blessed Life under today's date.

Tuesdays with Dorie: White Chocolate Brownies

This week's pick was Dorie's White Chocolate Brownies, as chosen by delightful Marthe of Culinary Delights. Now certain people have been waiting for these brownies to be chosen forever, so I hope everyone else enjoyed them as much as I did!

You'll notice my brownies are naked. I just wasn't up for meringue this week and I was sure that it would make them too sweet for me anyway. As it was, I could have easily devoured my half batch in one sitting!

I used frozen raspberries here (the fresh ones are ridiculously expensive even in season) and had no problems. Knowing they tended to underbake, I cooked mine for 30 minutes (I used and 8 x 8 pan) and they were perfect.

Thanks for a fabulous pick, Marthe! The white chocolate, raspberries and orange flavours were a match made in baking heaven. I will definitely be making these again!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia

Another recipe for chocoholics this week! The lovely Tanya of Chocolatechic chose Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia and I have to admit I wasn't too sure about it. I mean, a brownie is a brownie is a brownie, right? Wrong! I think this was the most fudgy, chocolatey, decadent brownie I've ever eaten.

I made just 1/4 of the recipe and seeing we're only a week out from Valentine's Day I used a little heart-shaped spring-form pan (well greased and lined with baking paper).

I'm no good at working out cooking times for adjusted recipes but it seemed cooked after 30 minutes - the top was dry and crackly and it was starting to pull away from the edges. A mere 5 minutes later the middle sank into an enormous crater revealing an ooey-gooey chocolate centre. I figured it would firm up as it cooled and it did.

The taste test ...

I know it gets a little repetitive to hear me rave about almost every recipe but this truly was the best brownie I've ever had. In fact I think it would be in my top 10 TWD picks and that's high praise for someone who prefers fruit desserts. It is VERY rich though. I think my little heart shaped brownie could have served 6 easily.

Thank you for a fabulous pick Tanya! You can find the recipe on her blog under today's date.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte

This week's TWD selection was another decadent delight!

April of Short & Rose chose Dorie's Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte and really the name says it all don't you think? Cherry, fudge, brownie, torte. I'm there!

I made only minor changes to the recipe, using dried cranberries instead of cherries, black cherry jam instead of cherry preserves and leaving out the kirsch (I just used all water instead and this really allowed the flavour of the fruits to shine through).

My topping was not even remotely pourable - it somehow managed to achieve to achieve the consistency of a baked New York cheesecake. Fluffy and delicious but not at all mousse-like!

I was all set to do the chevron pattern on the top so I still piped the jam on top.

The taste test ...


I think this would have to be in my top 5 TWD recipes so far! Exactly like a black forest cake but in brownie form and with (an unintentional) cheesecake topping. And of course a lot easier to make. Absolutely delicious.

The tartness of the fruit cut through the richness but I was happy to be able to give most of it away. My MIL was having a working bee on Sunday to give her backyard a makeover. N and I couldn't make it so I sent the torte down to feed the hungry horde. It apparently went down really well and there was none left over, that's always a good sign!

I will definitely be making this again, perhaps for Christmas. Thanks April! You can find the recipe on her blog.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

Being on a bit of a brownie bender at the moment I was happy to see another brownie pick this week. And the fact that these were cheesecake brownies was just another reason to smile! I seem to be leaving TWD to the very last minute these days. I whipped them up about 2pm today and got my photo out on the verandah in the last few moments of daylight.

The taste test ...

Boy, these were rich! A big thumbs up from my number one taste tester but he's right, you definitely can't have more than 1 piece at a time. I did make the sour cream topping intending to serve it on the side but to be honest they don't need anything else.

Thanks to Melissa of Life in a Peanutshell for this week's pick. Make sure you vist her blog for the recipe and some gorgeous pics!

Cappuccino Brownie Bites

Oh brownies, you have completely sucked me in with your dense, fudgy texture and amazing chocolately taste. One bite and I am immediately thinking of other flavour combinations to make you even more mind-blowingly delicious.

Although you are all gone now, we shall be meeting again soon little cappuccino brownie bites. Indeed we shall ...

Cappuccino Brownie Bites
Adapted from Brownie Buttons on p106 of Baking from My Home to Yours

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain flour
Pinch of salt
60g butter
60g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 heaped teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1-2ts boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly butter a miniature muffin pan. Whisk together the flour and salt. Melt the butter, chocolate and brown sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula and keeping an eye on the pan so nothing overheats or burns. When the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and cool for a minute or two.

Stir in the vanilla, egg and coffee into the chocolate mixture. When the mixture is well blended, add the flour and stir only until it is incorporated. You should have a smooth, glossy batter.

Spoon the batter equally into the muffin cups (they will be almost full). Bake for approx 14 minutes or until the tops of the buttons spring back when touched. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 3 minutes before carefully releasing the buttons. Cool to room temperature on the racks.

Topping - whip 1/2 cup pure cream with 1 tbs icing sugar until peaks form. Use a piping bag to pipe onto the top of each brownie bit. Sprinkle the tops with cocoa.

Enjoy!