I'm feeling very grateful towards Chele this month, she nominated leftovers as this month's ingredient for the We Should Cocoa challenge - this really made me put my thinking cap on! (and helped with my resolution to waste less food!!).
There were plenty of options available to me - copious amounts of sprouts (!), about a tonne of strawberry "Roses", scraps of pastry, a half can of chestnut puree and half a pack of vacuum packed chestnuts (from Christmas dinner's sprouts, chestnuts and pancetta), to name a few - I decided to go with the chestnuts, and then for some reason grated them before I looked up any recipes (go figure!!!).
Of course any recipes I read used whole chestnuts (typical!), so I had to improvise and decided to use the grated chestnuts as a flour substitute. I hadn't made brownies for a while, so brownies it was - I played around with my favourite brownie recipes and this is the result.
Even if I say it myself - they were gorgeous! Moist with a fudgy centre, deeply chocolaty with a lovely nutty back note, lovely crispy top - these lads are going to the top of the brownie league table.
Chestnut Brownies
375g caster sugar
4 eggs
100g cocoa (good quality)
200g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g grated (cooked) chestnuts
1 tbsp self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F
Prepare a 9"/23cm brownie tin (I line mine with parchment paper)
Beat eggs and sugar together until light, fluffy and doubled in volume.
Melt the butter and then add the sieved cocoa - make sure there are no lumps.
Add the butter and cocoa to the eggs and sugar, stir well.
Add the vanilla.
Add the grated chestnuts, flour and baking powder, combine well.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake for 40 - 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven when it is cooked at the edges but still nice and slightly wobbly in the centre.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes in the tin, then remove to a wire rack.
55 comments:
wow what a cool idea to add chestnuts in here very tasty
What a fabulous idea!
Mmm what I wouldn't give for a brownie right now!
i love this....
yum! they look great!
Che ghiotto!!!! Complimenti per il blog!!!
I love the sound of the challenge - but I am alergic to chocolate/cocoa etc. Give me a nod however - would like to take part!
Oh yes, I am loving the idea of the chestnuts in there. What a fun and delicious idea. These sound like a winner.
I love your adaptation! It's so creative and I imagine would add the perfect hint of new flavor to the chocolate :)
Thi sounds divine ~ Chocolate and chestnuts, who could resist?
Mmmmmmm, tasty. Great idea. By the way you can send the strawberry creams this way, they are my favourite :)
I love the combination of chocolate and nuts!
They sound fab and a very creative use of the leftovers. I was toying with the idea of making brownies too ... great minds think alike ;0)
oh this looks divine...esp with the chestnuts!
i made brownies this wkend too but failed miserably lol.
What an adventurous cook you are. I am always so afraid to try something on my own. They look delicious.
Thank you very much for following my blog. I like brownies a lot, and this looks delicious.
Greetings from Spain. Marimi
I am liking your thinking with these, they look very delicious. It turns out grating the chestnuts was a wise choice.
This sound amazing and delicious! gloria
I love brownies! These look great, I've never added chestnuts before, brilliant idea. x
Genius - know what I am doing with my leftover chocolate buttons and chestnuts now!
These brownies look delicious. And leftovers is a great idea for an ingredient... I certainly have enough of those lying around!
This is truly brilliant!
My hubby just made brownies with peanut butter and walnut. Would love to try your recipe the next time. Your brownie looks moist. I am sure it taste great.
Nice one and impressive too seeing as how it goes to the top of your brownie list!
chestnut... puree... you don't say?... these look divine as usual... i'm having a hellish week and it's only Monday so this chocolatey stuff has cheered me up no end!
Chestnut brownies, that's a first for me! Brillant job!
What a great idea to combine chestnut and chocolate!
Thanks for all the encouragement - needed and appreciated :-}}
Jacqueline - just e-mail me your address and they are in the post!!!!
Mrs Nesbitt - if you go to Chele's blog at Chocolate Teapot, you'll get all the details. (Have to admire you even thinking about it, when you can't enjoy the fruits of your labour!)
Vivienne - keep trying!!!!
Quay Po - those peanut butter brownies look great - another combination to try!
Dom - leaving the chestnut puree to you - not holding my breath any more though!!! Hope work improves :-}
How fun! I bet they were very soft and yummy. I love it when I get to use my leftovers. :)
Oh my goodness. How scrumptious. Thanks for sharing - chestnuts what a neat idea!
Delicious bownies! Chestnuts make this bownie recipe exceptional! What a brilliant idea! Must try this too for the taste! Good job Gloria, this is mindful cooking!
I would like to correct a terrible error, I called you Gloria. My friend Gloria called me while posting my comment. My apologies! To think I was talking about being mindful! Shame on me!
I have never baked with chestnuts before but I do love brownies with nuts! These sound delicious!
I love chestnuts, and what a great idea to replace most of the flour with them! I'm so glad you didn't try this with the sprouts...
:)
this sounds so yummy with the chestnuts! i cant wait to try it out. thank you for sharing this.
mmmm, excellent idea, my mouth is watering!
I've never had chestnuts before - can you believe it? I love the idea of grating the nuts and adding them to brownies. I think this is something I'd like to try since so many people enjoy the flavor of nuts, but not the texture of them in desserts. Awesome!
Oh my! I haven't used chestnuts in years. These sound fabulous!
Oooo... I am loving chestnut! I'm sure your brownie taste terrific with it. Btw, how's the weather on your side? Hope everything is going well. Have a great day!
Blessings, Kristy
These brownies look delicious! I wish you lived next door! I'd be right over for one, or two! LOL! Have a wonderful day!
that brownie would go so good with some yummy ice cream,oh and that tonne of strawberry roses..if theyre the strawberry creams from the box of chocolate roses...send them my way :D
che meraviglia...questo è uno di quei dolci dove assapori tutto il gusto del cacao.....sono buonissimi, bellissimi e profumatissimi!!!!
complimenti!
a presto,
ciaooooooooooo
You are so making lamingtons too, Missy.
Also:
http://uk.cision.com/Resources/Social-Media-Index/Top-UK-Social-Media/Top-10-UK-Confectionery-and-Baking-Blogs/
Thank you everyone.
Michaelangelo - as my Mother always said "as long as you don't call me early in the morning"!!!!! :-}}
Weather is wet and cold Kristy - normal for Irish winter!!
They are the ones Chefting!!!
Mr P - what a thrill!!!! Thanks a million for the heads up :-}}
Gorgeous brownies! The addition of chestnut sounds like a nice twist.
Wow these sound delicious. I adore chestnuts, especially with chestnuts but never thought of using them together in a brownie. Gorgeous!
I made them yesterday (well I tinkered a little with the recipe because I can't resist) and they are delicious. Thank you.
What a great idea! I love those types of challenges, especially when the end result is great. This reminds me of a show on Food Network called Chopped, where chefs get 3 mystery baskets with ingredients they have to use in their appetizer, entree and dessert respectively.
so delicious!!! yum yum~
My mouth is watering just looking at that picture. That looks like a perfect brownie in my book. Gotta try this recipe. Chestnuts sound wonderful with chocolate!
I haven't tried making brownies with chestnuts. I'm gonna have to try this recipe. Great idea.
Plan B
They look lovely - good improvisation work going on there with the grated nuts. I always seem to have slightly the wrong ingredient for whichever recipe I want to follow....
Thanks you guys!
toc - delighted you tried and liked them, grinning here!!!!
Can't believe I missed this post. It's certainly proved to be a popular one. Grated chestnuts sound like a lovely addition. The chestnut brownies I made a couple of months ago are top of my brownie list too - they are sooooo good and yours look totally delicious.
I've just popped over from the "We Should Cocoa" round up.
These sound really unusual. I've often wondered if ground/grated chestnuts would substitute for chestnut flour. I'm pleased it worked out so well for you in this recipe.
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