Dense, fudgy and deliciously chocolatey, this gluten-free brownie cake is a treat that the whole family can enjoy – even on Pesach!
My approach to Pesach (Passover) baking has always been to avoid the ‘traditional’ recipes, which tend to replace flour with things like potato starch and matza meal. I find they have a unique and identifiable ‘Pesach flavour’ which I don’t enjoy at all.
Instead I like to use recipes which are just inherently kosher for Pesach. There are enough gluten-free and Paleo recipes kicking about these days that it really isn’t too hard to come up with something suitable.
Plan ahead
A couple of months ago, in an unusual fit of being organised and planning ahead, I had a go at making flourless chocolate brownies. I picked a highly-rated recipe off the internet, and made it pretty much as written.
It was a disaster. So horrible in fact, that I went back and checked the ingredients list to make sure I hadn’t misread something.
Too much butter
The main problem was that it had just too much butter. Way too much. When I took the brownies out of the oven, molten butter was bubbling up at the sides of the tin. After it had cooled, most of the butter had absorbed back into the brownies, giving a claggy texture and greasy mouthfeel. Yuk.
Great flavour
However, the flavour of the flourless chocolate brownies – darkly chocolately, slightly nutty and not too sweet, was great, so rather than abandon the recipe altogether, I tweaked and adjusted and gave it another go. My tweaked version was a huge improvement on the original, contains only about half the butter, and is frankly delicious.
Dense, fudgy, deliciously chocolatey and pleasantly nutty. I added a handful of chocolate covered cranberries to this brownie cake, just because I had some, and they were fabulous! A tangy, sweetly fruity nugget in every other bite makes it even yummier. I also sprinkled the top of the brownie cake with flaked almonds, which look lovely and serve to advertise the nuttiness within.
Chocolate brownie cake – ingredients
By now you are probably wondering exactly what I put into my improved chocolate brownie cake. Fear not, here’s the list of what you will need to make one for yourself!
- Dark chocolate – or use dark chocolate chips
- Butter – you can use margarine or dairy-free spread for a parve cake but it won’t be as good
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Ground almonds – sometimes called ‘almond flour’
- Ground hazelnuts – for that delicious chocolate-hazelnut flavour
- Vanilla – essence or paste, just make sure it’s made with real vanilla pods for the best flavour
- Chocolate coated cranberries or raisins – optional but delicious!
- Flaked almonds – just to make the top look pretty
Brownie cake?
What exactly is the different between brownie and cake? Isn’t a brownie just a particular kind of cake? In any case I’ve called this a ‘brownie cake’ because I’ve served it in slices, like cake, rather than squares, like a classic brownie.
I’ll definitely be adding this brownie cake to my list of Pesach-friendly baking recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Flourless chocolate hazelnut brownie cake
Ingredients
- 200 g dark chocolate (approx 1⅓ cups chocolate chips)
- 100 g butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 3 eggs
- 75 g ground almonds
- 75 g ground hazelnuts
- 75 g chocolate coated cranberries (optional) (OR use chocolate raisins or 25g chocolate chips)
- flaked almonds to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Line a 22cm (8½ inch) round springform tin with baking parchment.
- 200 g (7 oz) dark chocolate, 100 g (⅖ cup) butter, 100 g (½ cups) caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essenceMelt the chocolate and butter together over a low heat. When fully melted, beat in the sugar and vanilla and mix well.
- 3 eggsIn a separate bowl, beat the eggs. While beating, gradually pour on the melted chocolate mixture. The mixture will thicken and turn glossy. Once all the chocolate is added, beat well.
- 75 g (⅔ cup) ground almonds, 75 g (⅔ cup) ground hazelnuts, 75 g (⅓ cup) chocolate coated cranberries (optional)Stir in the ground nuts and mix well to combine. Finally, stir in the chocolate cranberries, if using.
- flaked almondsPour the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 25-30 minutes, until the centre is just cooked.
- Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition
More delicious Pesach cake recipes
If you’re after more Pesach bakes, check out this list of the best, family-approved Pesach treats, desserts, bakes and cakes. Or take a look at my Pesach board on Pinterest for plenty more recipe inspiration.
plasterer bristol
These are so delcious, they turned out perfect when i made them. Thanks so much for sharing.
Simon
Helen
Thanks for letting me know! I’m glad you enjoyed them 🙂
FFF
Yes! I was particularly disappointed as the original (horrible) recipe was by a very well-known celebrity cook. Feel very smug that my version is better 🙂
Jibber JabberUK
Thank goodness you had the foresight to try the recipe in advance! As you say this would be a good cake for all year round. Thanks for linking up with this month’s Love Cake.