Decadent Minty Brownies

Posted in Desserts, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Decadent brownies! Yikes, I wasn’t really planning on preparing something so indulgent, but I had to prepare them for school and so I did! And OK I confess, I did have a piece (and I promise, it was just one piece) and it was DIVINE!

These brownies are so rich and satisfying that you only need to indulge in one to satisfy your craving for something sweet to round off your meal. The recipe is adapted from the original posted on http://www.bonapetit.com. My version uses less sugar, bit of ground flax, bit of instant espresso, 1/4 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips and mint extract.

If you don’t like your brownies too sweet, feel free to reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup. I found 1 cup sugar to be a bit too sweet for my liking, so I will definitely be cutting it down next time around! Also, if you are watching calories, bonapetit.com says these are 110 calories per piece (16 pieces total). I baked mine in a 9″X9″ metal pan and cut them into 20 pieces. So even though I added just 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips, these brownies cut into 20 pieces should be a 100-calorie dessert. Just guessing!

Decadent Minty Brownies

Servings: 16-20
Time: 25-30 min
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Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 level tablespoon instant espresso
2 eggs
1/2 – 1 tsp mint extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder (you can omit this if you are using regular cocoa powder)
1 heaping tablespoon ground flax
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F (325F if you are using glass pan)
2. Prepare the baking pan by spraying it lightly with nonstick cooking spray
3. Combine sugar, cocoa, espresso and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Add melted butter to the above and stir well to combine.
5. Add eggs one at a time and whisk to incorporate well. Follow with mint extract.
6. Combine flour, ground flax and baking powder.
7. Stir the flour mixture gently into the cocoa mixture.
8. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
9. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are well set and middle tests done.
10. Let cool and cut into 16-20 pieces.

3Mar2014

Minty Avocado Brownie

Posted in Desserts by serendibbeginnings

It’s March! And that usually is characterized by GREEN!

From Facebook posts, it is quite clear people are already enjoying their minty Shamrock shakes! So, when the thought for brownies came about, I wanted to combine chocolate and mint, but in a healthier unison! Avocados anyone?

In many ways, I guess a good ripe avocado is nature’s butter! Or creamy milk substitute (gosh, can’t wait to try an avocado ice cream or froyo!). Since I had a perfectly ripe fruit tempting me to transform it into something even more divine than its natural indulgent self, I figured I would try out an avocado brownie recipe that I saw at http://www.kirantarun.com. So, that’s what I did! Avocados have a lot of the good fat – but they do pack some serious calories if you eat too much. This recipe that serves 8 uses one large avocado, so not bad. The only cholesterol that is in this recipe comes from a single egg used.

Also, I replaced wheat flour with all purpose flour and ground flax. The end result was a very moist, soft, “choco-minty” brownie that prompted calls for seconds! Next time, I would like to add some chopped nuts (pistachios sound good) to add a bit of textural element. All in all, I think you will not be disappointed in this recipe. In fact you will probably have this as your go-to recipe when you run out of mint-chocolate chip ice cream! This is one of those recipes that definitely needs to find a place in the “guilt free indulgence” category!

Minty Avocado Brownie

Servings: 8
Time: 45 min
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Ingredients
1 large ripe avocado
1/2 cup minus 2 heaping tablespoons all purpose flour
2 heaping tablespoons ground flax
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 heaping tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
1 egg, very lightly beaten
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
2 tablespoons chocolate chips, optional
2 tablespoons chopped nuts, optional

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mash avocado until quite smooth in a medium bowl.
3. To this, add lightly beaten egg, mint extract and espresso mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, mix well the dry ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts.
5. Gently fold in the dry ingredients into the avocado mixture.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if used.
7. Scoop batter into a small loaf pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Level with a knife or back of spoon.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes, till center tests done (toothpick test).
9. Cool in refrigerator and cut into eight squares, about 2″ wide.

22Feb2014

Coconut-Pineapple Flan

Posted in Desserts by serendibbeginnings

My love for flan, crème brulee, caramel pudding – whatever you call it- dates all the way back to my childhood. It was one of those treats we kids devoured no matter what else was around. Those days, I grew up eating the version made with tons of whole eggs, condensed milk and sugar. Using all those eggs and condensed milk results in a delicious “pudding” that is firmer and “sliceable”. Growing up, I remember my mom making this caramel pudding and slicing it up to serve. It had the decadence of a crème brulee with the satisfaction of relishing on a slice of cake. Mmmmm….

These days, since I am trying to cut down on carbs, especially sugar, I wanted to attempt a recipe that was not so calorific, yet satisfies the sweet tooth. I know I can NEVER give up on desserts. That to me is like depriving myself of oxygen – ok maybe not that desperate but close enough. Only thing that seems to work for me is finding lower calorie substitutes in my recipes. With that in mind, I attempted a flan recipe with low fat milk, lite coconut milk and some splenda. Since a light caramel sauce is a “must” for a good flan, I took the traditional route with regular refined sugar but reduced the overall amount of sauce.

Lastly, instead of the traditional vanilla flavor, I opted for coconut pineapple combination for a tropical flair – to go with the balmy 50F in the middle of winter!

The resulting flan, crème brulee or caramel pudding – again whatever you want to call it- was velvety smooth, light and had a nice tropical flavor. Just what I was looking for!

Coconut-Pineapple Flan

Servings: 4
Time: 4 hrs 30 min
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Ingredients

For Flan:
1/2 cup 1% or skim milk
7 oz unsweetened coconut milk, preferably the lite version
1/3 cup granulated Splenda
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons crushed pineapple, drained

For caramel glaze:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Prepare caramel by heating the sugar and water till sugar starts to caramelize. Make sure you don’t scorch the sugar.
3. Transfer the cooked caramel to a 6″ baking pan and sprinkle with crushed pineapple. Set aside.
4. Simmer 1% milk and coconut milk till tiny bubbles start forming around the edges. Do not boil. Add the rum extract.
5. Beat the yolks and whole egg lightly. Slowly add the milk to temper the eggs, being careful to add the milk in a steady stream while continuously stirring the egg mixture.
6. Add Splenda to the egg-milk mixture and stir to dissolve.
7. Strain the mixture to remove any bits of solids and transfer the strained liquid to the prepared dish.
8. Place a wet kitchen towel in a large pan (13″x9″). Place the 6″ pan with the flan mixture on the towel and place in the preheated oven.
9. Slowly pour boiling water into the larger container, carefully avoiding the flan mixture.
10. Bake for about 45 minutes till the top looks set.
11. Once cooled to room temperature, carefully run a thin knife or spatula around the edges and invert the flan onto a plate.
12. Chill in refrigerator for 3-4 hours before serving.

14Feb2014

Vanilla froyo with strawberries, chia and pistachio

Posted in Desserts by serendibbeginnings

I have long been a fan of Greek yogurt – at least ever since I tried the pineapple Chobani! With all the craze about froyo’s, I really wanted to mess around with a froyo recipe that would turn out at least acceptable in a home kitchen WITHOUT an ice cream maker. The following recipe is adapted from Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt recipe from http://www.coffeeandquinoa.com.

Even though I don’t have an ice cream maker, I felt confident I could churn out a pretty decent bowl of “froyo” based on my reminiscence about how my mom and aunt used to make homemade ice cream back home without an ice cream maker. They would prepare the mix, pout it in a pan, freeze for couple of hours, aerate it using a handheld mixer and repeat a few times till you can mix anymore. So, that’s what I decide to do – although I didn’t have the patience to make this an arduous 6+ hours process, mainly because I wanted to dig into it sooner than later and be able to post the recipe in time for a relatively healthy Valentine’s Day treat. 🙂

Vanilla Froyo with Strawberries, Chia and Pistachio

Servings: 4
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of light or fat-free vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup of sliced strawberries
1 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds, soaked in 3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup of strawberry flavored jello, either scraped up or cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons chopped pistachio

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients 1 through 4 thoroughly in a bowl. Adjust honey to taste.
2. Pour into a pan or small bowl, cover with plastic and put in the freezer or deep freezer.
3. After about 2 hours, when the liquid starts to freeze, take it out of the freezer and whip again to aerate it. Make sure you don’t whisk/whip too long and make the developing froyo melt before it even freezes!
4. Place the bowl/pan back in the freezer. Repeat step #3 at least once or twice more every 1 1/2 – 2 hours till the yogurt mixture transforms itself into froyo consistency. Remember, if you follow the manual version, your froyo might not set as well as in an ice cream maker.
5. Once the desired consistency is reached, you can top the froyo with your favorite toppings and dig in. In this case, I served each bowl topped with strawberries, softened chia seeds, jello and pistachios.

NOTE: Keep an eye on the treat while in the freezer. If you let it sit there too long, it will freeze hard. You will have to let it thaw out for a while before you can scoop it out again! Lesson learned the hard way on day 2! 😦

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