Chestnut Swirl Brownies

Brownies with a hint of Christmas – these soft and chewy little cuties are sure to be a hit with the whole household and they are a cinch to make.

Easy to freeze too and defrost within 20 minutes, so a great recipe to bake ahead of the festivities. Also, a brilliant way to use up the chestnut puree sitting in the back of your store cupboard!

Chestnuts are a little kitchen hero ingredient as they are packed with vitamin C for immunity and they are a slow release high fibre food which can keep us fuller for longer.

The icing sugar is optional, but as all my recipes have a bit less sugar than many people are used to, icing sugar is a sneaky way of making people think it has more sugar than it really does!

Chestnut Swirl Brownies

Brownie Base

• 150 g Butter
• 150 g Dark Chocolate ((cooking chocolate))
• 3 Eggs
• 125 g Coconut Sugar ((or light muscovado))
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 125 g Rice flour

Chestnut Swirl

• 200 g Chestnut Puree ((or whole roasted chestnuts))
• 1 tbsp Rice flour
• 6 tbsp Milk
• 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
• 2 pinch Sea Salt Flakes
• 1 dusting Icing Sugar

1. Heat your oven to 180°C non-fan/160°C fan.

2. Break up the chocolate and melt this with the butter in a saucepan on a gentle heat. Stir from time to time to combine well.
3. In the meantime, crack the eggs into a separate bowl and mix well with a hand or electric whisk.
4. Add in the coconut sugar and vanilla and mix well again so that it makes a light bubbly mixture.
5. Then stir in the rice flour and then the chocolate butter mixture. This makes the base of the brownies.
6. To make the chestnut swirl, blend up the chestnut puree, rice flour, milk and maple syrup in a mini food processor or using a stick blender. Then add in a pinch of sea salt flakes.
7. Grease and line a square 8 inch x 8 inch brownie tin with some baking paper. Pour the chocolate mixture into the lined brownie tin, pressing it well into the corners.
8. Spoon the chestnut swirl onto the top of the brownie mixture and use a fork to swirl it into the chocolate mixture so it makes it beautifully marbled throughout – don’t over mix.
9. Sprinkle over a few more flakes of sea salt over the top – just a few!
10. Place into the oven for 25 minutes until cooked all the way through.
11. Cool on a baking rack, dust with icing sugar if you want, and then cut into squares.
    
    

• Storage: Store in a cake tin for 4 days or in the freezer in a container for 3 months.
• Dairy Free: Use dairy free spread or odourless coconut oil. Swap milk to almond, or cashew
• Egg Free: Swap the eggs for 3 tablespoon of ground flax seed and 6 tablespoons of water OR 4 ½ tablespoons of whisked chickpea water (known as aquafaba).
• Nut Free: Swap chestnut puree for light tahini (sesame paste)

Baking, Snacks & Treats

Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free, Vegan, Vegetarian