Chocolate brownies – gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free

My son has recently turned 5 and he asked for a birthday cake fully made of chocolate, with Dinosaur Train on it and decorated with cherries. And two days ago, after school, he suddenly said “Mom, let’s bake a chocolate cake! Call Joanna (our friend that made the birthday cake) and ask her the recipe!”. I would have loved to comply, but first of all, that cake is not easy to make, so I wouldn’t even try, and second, I didn’t want to ask anyone for the secret recipe of a great cake.

Still, my son was very determined to eat a chocolate cake, so I took out the “Gluten-free 101” book by Carol Fenster and looked for a suitable recipe, checking also that we had all the needed ingredients in the kitchen. And we decided to bake some chocolate brownies, adapting the recipe in order to make it sugar-free and dairy-free.

My son did all the cooking all by himself (under my supervision), then we poured the batter in a muffin tray and baked the brownies. Everyone in the house loved them! Therefore, the next day, after coming home from school, my son suggested “Let’s bake some brownies again! Look mom, here is the book, I’ve prepared the table and I know that the recipe starts with 140g of gluten-free flour!”. How could anyone say “No, I don’t feel like baking” to this? So we went in the kitchen and baked a new batch of muffins, doubling the amounts this time, as my daughter (2.7 years old) decided she wants to cook too, all by herself! It seems we are living with two little master chefs in the house…

The recipe is simple, the baking time is 20 minutes and the taste is great, these fudgy and chewy brownies go well with milk or coffee or on their own. The recipe is below, the photos taken are of the last brownie from the first batch, and if you bake some, come back and tell me how you liked them!

Print Recipe

Chocolate brownies - gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

brownies

Ingredients

• 140 g gluten-free flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (or melted cool butter)
• 1/2 cup xylitol (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it)
• 1 egg large, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup warm water 43C

Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Servings brownies Ingredients 140 g gluten-free flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened) 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp xanthan gum 1/3 cup coconut oil (or melted cool butter) 1/2 cup xylitol (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it) 1 egg large, at room temperature 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/3 cup warm water 43C

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 175C.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum).
3. In a large bowl, beat the oil and xylitol with an electric mixer until well combined, then add the egg and vanilla and mix again.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour blend mixture to the egg mixture, then add the warm water, beating until smooth.
5. Divide the batter in muffin cases (or pour it in a 8-inch square baking pan) and bake for 20 minutes.

Recipe Notes

1. avoid over-baking the brownies as the won't be fudgy (I usually set the timer to 15 minutes and then I check them with a toothpick)
2. a variation of this recipe can be obtained by adding 1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts into the batter
3. xylitol can have a laxative effect if consumed more than 65g/day (one brownie contains around 14 grams if 1/2 cup xylitol is used in the recipe)