Gluten free Dark Chocolate and Tahini Brownies

This weekend I was invited by friends to a barbecue party in East London, the first barbecue of the summer season! Luckily, the notoriously temperamental English weather was on our side and – despite a cloudy sky – it didn’t rain. We even had a few bouts of sunshine. The party was a great excuse to bake something new. Naturally I offered to make a dessert: these flourless dark chocolate and tahini brownies.

Did I really need to try a new brownie recipe? After all, my blog already has recipes for Double Chocolate Coconut Oil Brownies, Black Bean Brownies and Sweet Potato Brownies. And when I’m in doubt, I always make Joy The Baker’s extra nutty brownies.

To answer my own question: yes, I needed these gluten free dark chocolate and tahini brownies in my life.

Besides, no one will ever complain if you bring brownies to a party, trust me. The real struggle is not to eat them all before you make it to the party! Luckily I made two batches, because my husband and I ended up eating many of these by ourselves.

Why dark chocolate and tahini brownies?

Tahini is a sauce made from sesame seeds and traditionally used in Middle Eastern cuisine. It is such a versatile and delicious ingredient to use in both savoury and sweet dishes. I love adding tahini sauce to Carrot and Apple Slaw: it’s tastier and lighter than using mayo. I rarely use it in baking, but I want to change that.

If you didn’t already know, tahini pairs really well with chocolate.

I found the recipe for gluten free brownies on David Lebovitz blog. Bon Appetit magazine also has the same recipe, but made with tahini and coconut oil. I tried making the Bon Appetit version first, but I wasn’t too happy with the result. It was a bit dry, although that may be because I kind of over-did it with the cocoa powder when I converted from spoons to grams…

Anyway, I decided to make the brownies again starting from Lebovitz recipe and combining the tahini into it. I think my version works perfectly.

These gluten free dark chocolate and tahini brownies are soft, fudgy, rich. They are not too sweet and have that little hint of savoury from the tahini, which I find irresistible.

Ingredients

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz. 

• 85g unsalted butter
• 230g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 tablespoons tahini
• 100g granulated sugar
• 50g light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 10g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 30g corn flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tsp maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and line a 8″ square baking pan with baking paper (the paper should go up the sides to the rim). I personally always use a 10″x6″ rectangular brownie tin. 

Melt butter, chocolate and 1 tablespoon of tahini in a small saucepan over very low heat on the stove top, stirring constantly until smooth.

Remove from heat. In the bowl of a food processor, beat together eggs and sugar. Add vanilla extract. Blend in the butter and chocolate mixture.

Sift together the cocoa powder and corn flour in a small bowl, then stir them into the chocolate mixture. Add salt.

Beat the batter vigorously for at least one minute, until it’s completely smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

In a small bowl, stir maple syrup and remaining 3 tablespoons of tahini. Dollop the mixture over the brownie batter. Swirl the tahini using a skewer or knife.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Take the pan out on of the oven and let cool completely in the tin, before removing it by lifting the edges of the baking paper. Cut the cake into squares. Leave them on a wire rack to cool down completely. Store in airtight container for 3-4 days.

Note: replace the butter with 3 tablespoons of coconut oil for dairy free brownies.