Gluten free double chocolate brownies with salted fudge frosting

There’s something about chocolate that makes people go crazy. Myself included.

When I was little and started baking it was always chocolate balls made with rolled oats, butter, sugar and cacao. Then I went on to more proper baking like marbled cake, chewy chocolate muffins and nutty chocolate squares. In fact most recipes I can recall had chocolate in them.

These days when my kids want to bake it’s always the traditional swedish chocolate balls (mentioned above) or ‘drömtårta’ {dream cake} – a kind of chocolate swiss roll filled with vanilla buttercream. The kids call it dad’s favorite cake. Simply because that’s about the only cake he likes.

Oh, I have to share that recipe sometime. It’s naturally gluten free by the way.

Talking about chocolate, there are also certain blog posts that become more popular than others. And they (almost) always have chocolate in them. This is such a blog post. It’s in Swedish and I’ve received tons of emails just because of that post, from people who want to get the recipe in English. And I don’t know how many pins and repins it’s gotten on Pinterest. That is so fascinating!

I believe chocolate is the key to people’s hearts. What do you think?

And the thing is. That recipe turned out so great. And ever since, I have been wanting to make a somewhat healthier version of it. So I did some experimenting with natural sweeteners and buckwheat flour. And guess what? It turned out even better than the original recipe.

However, I don’t actually believe you can call a cake ‘healthy’ just by removing the wheat flour and swap the refined sugar for natural sweeteners.

But sweets are for treats right? Meaning we don’t eat them every day anyway. And this is truly a treat. Made a little healthier (and more delicious!) by replacing the wheat flour and the white sugar with healthier alternatives.

Other chocolatey treats you might want to try right now are these little Sarah Bernard biscuits from Green Kitchen Stories, this god-sent creation from Dolly and Oatmeal or this dreamy decadent loaf cake from The Vanilla Bean Blog.

These blog posts all make me wish I had more time to bake in my life!

And to celebrate spring I think you should decorate everything with pansies. Chocolate suits them, don’t you think?

Oh, and I almost forgot – if you read Swedish you can find a little interview with me over at Femina, where I also share my recipe for sunchoke soup with steamed blue mussels.

Now, here’s the brownie recipe. Enjoy!

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Printable recipe
Utskriftsvänligt recept
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Gluten free double chocolate brownies with salted fudge frosting

12-20 squares depending on size

175 g butter
1/2 cup 2 tbsp (100 g) coconut sugar (you can use raw cane sugar or granulated fine sugar if you like)
6 tbsp (60 g) light muscovado sugar
6 tbsp (40 g) powdered cacao of good quality (e.g. Valrhona)
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup 2 tbsp (90 g) buckwheat flour
50 g bittersweet chocolate of good quality, roughly chopped (I use Valrhona Caraibe)

Salted fudge frosting
1/2 cup 2 tbsp heavy cream
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp maple syrup
200 g bittersweet chocolate of good quality, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
pistachios, roughly chopped
edible flowers, optional

1) Preheat the oven to 180° C (350 ° F). Line a small baking tray (ca. 20×30 cm) with buttered parchment paper.
2) Using an electric hand mixer or a table-top mixer whisk the butter and sugars together until creamy and fluffy. Add cacao, maple syrup and salt using a rubber spatula.
3) Add the eggs (one at a time) to the mixture. When all the egg has been incorporated, gently fold in the buckwheat flour and the chopped chocolate still using your rubber spatula.
4) Scrape the mixture into the baking tray and spread it out very gently. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean or just a little sticky. Let cool a bit before lifting the cake out of the tray. Then cool completely on a wire rack.
5) For the frosting, bring cream, milk and maple syrup just to the boil and then pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for a minute or two and then stir until smooth and well mixed. Add the salt and let cool.
6) When the cake is completely cooled, spread the frosting over the cake. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and put in the fridge to set for 30-60 minutes before cutting it.

Decorate with pansies (or other edible flowers) and enjoy! The brownies keep well in the freezer for up to three months.