“Free” brownie with pumpkin sorbet.

chocolate / ice cream / recipes / sweet+desserts / gluten free / nut free / vegan

At last I can share this recibe with all of  you! It seems that sometimes, some recipes that one is waiting for, take a long time to come up. Believe me, it is not  deliberate to let you wait anxiously in front of the screen. However, when I am in the kitchen and something I am very excited about comes out, I share it with you without even knowing when I can post it in the blog as it takes time to edit the photos, write the article, translating it….etc. When I try to link it up with the recipes of  my to-do list blog, where I also have  the recipes of my workshops, and realize as well, that the recipe is suitable  for a pastry workshop, everything takes much longer as I have to wait until  I have shared the recipe  in the class. So at the end it has been two months now since I shared the idea of this amazing brownie! This is something good too, because during this time I can be sure that the recipe comes out well. One feels more certain of herself when she knows the recipe is 100% effective.

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The idea to name it free was because of the intention to make a brownie that everyone could enjoy regardless of their allergies (or diet) with no nuts , dairy, grains, gluten, soy or eggs. As you know, the most important thing for me in a recipe is the final taste as well as the aspect or presentation. If a recipe is very healthy but not delicious, it doesn’t have sense for me. Or if it tastes good and is healthy but the aspect is not appetizing, then no need to waste time with it.

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I want to make clear that the name “free” it is not synonymous to “light”, as a friend asked me. One should enjoy it with moderation because even if it is not a heavy sweet as a traditional one with lots of butter and sugar, it is dense as it has a good amount of chocolate ( always the best quality and organic) .I tried to add a healthier sweetness with  pumpkin purée and coconut in different ways: coconut butter and coconut sugar (that has a low glycemic index).

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You will see anyway, as it happens with the alternative sweets, that you cannot have a big quantity of it if you have sugar cravings. One portion is enough.

The sorbet appeared to me a refreshing and healthy alternative to traditional one, and also gives a touch of contrast to the whole recipe.It is very easy to prepare following the technique of freezing it as ice cubes ready to blend in the moment you need them, as in the pear galette recipe. Additionally, as you have to cook the pumpkin for the brownie, you make some extra for the sorbet. Therefore I suggest you to cook the pumpkin for both and divide it , first make the sorbet and when it is frozen , make the brownie. brownie-freeI also give you the following idea of making the brownie in a ramekin type mould and serve it warm using a spoon!

I hope you enjoy it in any form and let me know the reaction of your guests when they discover the ingredients have nothing to do with the original ones…

 

Ingredients (8 servings)

500 gr raw pumpkin (peeled and chopped, seeds removed)

...:.....................................................

Pumpkin sorbet.............................

280 gr cooked pumpkin

1/3 vanilla pod

20 gr coconut butter

30 gr maple syrup

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp water

A generous pinch of salt

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Brownie (1 mould of 15x24 cm or 4-5 ramekings)...................................

200 gr chocolate 74%

100 gr coconut butter

200 gr cooked pumpkin

100 gr coconut sugar

1/8 tsp sea salt

80 gr grated coconut

2 tbsp+2 tsp chestnut flour-SIEVED

4 tbsp arrow root

Instructions

  1. Start with the pumpkin, steaming it for 10/15 minutes or until it gets soft. Leave it on a kitchen paper to absorb the excess of water (15minutes). Prepare the sorbet by using 280 gr of the cooked pumpkin and blending it with the rest of the ingredients (taking only the seeds from the vanilla pod) until you have an homogeneous mixture. Pour into silicone molds to make ice cubes and freeze.
  2. Once frozen, unmold them and keep them in a freezer bag until you need them.
  3. For the brownie, turn on the oven at 180*C. Cover a rectangular cake mold with parchment paper or grease the ramekins with coconut oil.
  4. Melt in a Bain Marie the coconut butter with the chocolate.
  5. Meanwhile, blend together the remaining cooked pumpkin with coconut sugar and salt.
  6. In a mill ground the grated coconut until you get a fine powder (ONLY A FEW SECONDS, if not it will release all its fat. Transfer to a medium size bowl with the sieved chestnut flour and arrowroot. Mix with a whisk.
  7. When you have the chocolate mixture melted,add the pumpkin , stir with a whisk and pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir it all up with care until it is homogeneous and pour it into the prepared mounds or mold and bake it it for 25 minutes if one mould or 20 if small ramekins or until the top is matte. It is important to change the oven function to "air" when halfway cooked.
  8. Let it cool on a rack. If you are going to serve it warm in the ramekin, you can prepare the sorbet while it is cooling down by blending the pumpkin ice cubes until they have an ice cream texture, and then serve it with the warm brownie.
  9. If you want to have the big brownie size, and want small squares to serve individually, let it cool completely, unmolt it and freeze for 30 minutes. Cut with a sharp knife in 5x5 squares and keep them in the fridge if not eating right away.
  10. One hour before you serve them get them out of the fridge and prepare the pumpkin sorbet as described above and serve all together.
  11. Enjoy!

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