May 10, 2011

Choc Fudge Brownies (with a twist)

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good FoodCookbook Adventure #10 - Deceptively Delicious

This is the newest book in my collection and even though I am reluctant to obtain any more cookbooks (see my first Cookbook Adventure post), when I heard about the recipes in this one from a dance school mum (amazing what you learn sitting around waiting for your children during their extra curricular activities), I just couldn't resist. 

Now I am a big fan of including vegies in all food and have done so for years (getting 5 serves a day into kids and even hubby can be difficult), but this book takes it to a totally different level. Essentially it is based on batch cooking vegetable purees and then including them into everyday foods where other ingredients disguise the taste of the vegetable. 

So you can start with this:


and together with a few other ingredients, you can produce this:


Interested? The Disney website has the original recipe and here's my slightly adulterated (and a bit more wicked) Thermotalk version:

The vegetable purees
Ingredients
5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise into thin sticks
1 bunch of spinach, washed

Method
Place 600g water into TM bowl. Place carrot sticks into Varoma receptacle and tray, each in a single layer. Steam at Varoma temperature for 20 minutes on speed 2 or until carrots are tender. Remove carrots and steam spinach at Varoma temperature for 3 minutes on speed 2.
Reserve a small amount (about 20g) of steaming water and remove the rest from the TM bowl. Place steamed carrots into TM bowl and blend for 20 seconds on speed 6 or until you get a smooth puree. Remove carrot puree and set aside.
Place steamed spinach into TM bowl. Blend for 20 seconds on speed 6 or until you get a smooth puree. Remove spinach puree and set aside. If making brownies immediately after making the purees there is no need to wash the bowl.

The brownies
Ingredients
100g dark chocolate (I used 85% Lindt but next time I would use the 70% Lindt)
30g butter
120g carrot puree
120g spinach puree
120g brown sugar
20g cocoa powder
2tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
110g plain wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
60g milk chocolate chips (or smashed Easter eggs!)

Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 20cm x 20cm tin with baking paper.
Place chocolate into TM bowl. Grind for 20 seconds on speed 8. Add butter to TM bowl and melt at 50C for 90 seconds on speed 3.
Add carrot, spinach, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and egg. Mix on speed 5 for 30 seconds.
Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.
Add chocolate chips and mix on speed 4 for 10 seconds.
Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool completely in the tin. Decorate with sprinkled icing sugar or drizzled milk chocolate ganache (see EDC page 160 (but substitute dark chocolate for milk chocolate to get the contrast in colours)). Cut into squares or bars.


Serving tip: best eaten at room temperature (apparently if eaten warm you can taste the spinach). Due to the vegetables' moisture content, the brownies get fudgier and more dense the longer you keep them. I love the fudgy texture but my kids were more keen on them when freshly baked and lighter.

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