As Black as Brown can be

Have you seen black chocolate? Even the darkest of chocolates is a deep, very deep brown, the color of my eyes. Yet, when you bake it, it can come close to a blackness unsuspected. And, that is the deep richness that I can fall in love with again and again.

But, even more than that, I have an amorous desire for brownies. My knees go weak at the sight of them. It is pure lust, unadulterated. I love the melty, fudginess of it and the sheer decadence and naughtiness they represent.

Whenever, I make brownies, I tweak things to enhance just those qualities, without adding more butter or fat. I have found that using nut flours intensifies the density and hence the allure of the brownie. Recently, I have been cohorting with them a little more than usual with the excuse of concocting recipes to use the almond pulp that I get as a consequence of making almond milk. One of the best ways, I have found is using it in granola. I will put up a recipe for that later. Another is making these brownies!

You may wonder what the hoopla is about. Not only are these intensely rich, chocolately and fudge like, they are also insanely moist and stay that way for at least 3 days. I don't know if they stay longer because they don't last longer here. Typical brownies start becoming crusty and stale losing that soft dense center as early as the second day. That makes it a bit hard to make in bulk. These on the other hand, you can make in bulk and freeze for later, whenever the urge strikes!

The secret to the moistness is almond pulp.

Unlike the flour, the pulp has an inherent moistness because I don't dry it out after squeezing out the milk. Baking the batter does not dry out the pulp sufficiently while the pulp itself is not too wet to make the brownie soggy. It simply lends more denseness to it. Finally, streaking through the batter with peanut butter and walnuts, I think I make a good case for 'healthy' fats!

Btw, a note here; Almonds are my favorite nuts. So, you can see why I am so excited about this recipe!

That's it. The unpretentiously awesome brownie that is blacker than the deepest brown from the double chocolate dose and stickier than night from the almond pulp!

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownies

1-1/4 cup almond pulp, liquid squeezed out as much as possible

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup peanut butter

6 T butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate, such as Valhorna

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

handful of walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Over a double boiler, melt the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate to a smooth liquid mixture. Remove from heat and quickly whisk in the egg to make a pudding. You have to be quick with the whisking to avoid scrambling the egg.

To this pudding, add the almond paste, salt, baking soda and half the peanut butter. Whisk to mix. Add half the walnuts and fold into mixture. Batter will be quite wet.

Pour batter into a prepared pan and bang on counter to release any air bubbles.

Streak the remaining peanut butter through the batter, sprinkle the remaining nuts on top and press down gently.

Bake for 30 minutes, until crusty on top and yet soft and springy to touch.

Cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. This is important. Unlike dry flour, the wetness of the pulp needs a bit more resting time to hold shape.

Don't rush it. Patience is rewarded.