Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie Recipe

This recipe started out life as a Martha Stewart classic, back before I gave it a gluten- and dairy-free makeover. Dense, chewy brownie mingles with light cinnamon pumpkin cake, the hazelnuts adding a nice little contrast on top. Years ago I got into the habit of steaming or roasting chunks of pumpkin until soft, before pureeing and freezing them in half or quarter cup portions. This way I’ve always got pumpkin puree at hand to use in recipes like this.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE BROWNIE RECIPE

Makes 12-15

115g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

120ml (8 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil

160g (3/4 cup) pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

90g fine brown rice flour

40g quinoa flour

35g ground hazelnuts (if not available, you can grind your own whole nuts in a small food processor until finely ground or use ground almonds instead)

1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

200g (1 cup) unrefined raw sugar

3 large free-range eggs, lightly whisked

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

40g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 28 x 18cm slice tin and line with baking paper, extending up and over the sides by 2cm.

2. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl along with 75ml (5 tablespoons) of the olive oil, and set over a saucepan of boiling water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Stir until chocolate has melted, then remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

3. In another bowl combine pumpkin puree, remaining olive oil, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. Sift flours, ground hazelnuts, baking powder and salt into a bowl, tipping any hazelnut meal that won’t go through your sieve back into the bowl.

5. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla and whisk to form a smooth batter.

6. Evenly divide batter between the chocolate and pumpkin bowls and mix each bowl to combine. Dollop big spoonfuls of each batter randomly into the prepared tin, then use a knife to swirl them together.

7. Scatter over chopped hazelnuts and bake for 20–25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool in tin. This brownie will store, airtight, for 3–4 days, or longer in the fridge.

Extracted with permission from A Year in My Real Food Kitchen by Emma Galloway, RRP $44.99, published by HarperCollins New Zealand.