These brownies have secrets! I baked them, passed them out to my family, my neighbors and my friends to see what they thought. I didn’t say anything, just asked for their honest opinions and this is what I got… “they are so RICH,” “beyond decadent,” “Amazing,” “Great, can I have another one?” (he is 9) and on and on. Not a bad review in the bunch. No one guessed that they were gluten free and from a King Arthur Flour mix.
Yep, two things I rarely play with are gluten-free desserts and mixes. The reason for this tasty little experiment has to do with a young boy I met in upstate NY when I was teaching classes at the Battenkill Kitchen. He suggested that I make them and I couldn’t refuse. I added some dark chocolate ganache, blackberries and possibly the best Mint Leaf Ice Cream I’ve ever had. Gluten-free or not this is one fabulous dessert!
If you want to make brownies from scratch, here’s my brownies recipe.
I’ll start with my ice cream which actually tastes like fresh mint, because that is exactly what it is made with. No hyped up extracts that resemble Trident Spearmint Gum, just natural, summery mint.
Brownies with Ganache + Mint Ice Cream
To make the Mint Ice Cream:
I used a Mortar & Pestle to muddle (mash) the mint. You want to release the oils and essence of the leaves, so they will flavor your ice cream base. *this lovely mortar and pestle was designed by my friend Suvir Saran.
Mash the mint in a couple of small batches to make sure all the leaves are broken up.
Add the mint to the cooled down ice cream base and refrigerate overnight. I prefer to add it when the base is cold so that the mint doesn’t have a cooked leaf flavor.
Once you are ready to churn the ice cream you want to strain the mint leaves out. I used Chinois Strainer
How I came to bake King Arthur Flour’s Gluten-Free Brownies…
Last month I was invited to teach classes for the non-profit organization Battenkill Kitchen, which supports local farmers and educates children about the importance of great food. It was a community event and King Arthur Flour (just a few towns over in VT) donated the flour, baking stones and pizza peels for the classes. We went to pick up all the donated goods from Mike, the GM of flour at King Arthur. As we were loading up our 50 pound bags Mike’s son arrived with a tower of boxes in his hands. He presented them to me and said “you have to try these, they are REALLY good!” By the look on his father’s face I could tell his son had come to this plan all on his own and Mike couldn’t have been prouder. I had to explain to the young lad about the airline’s cruel weight limit and that I wouldn’t be able to get that tower of boxes in my suitcase. He said he’d get his dad to ship them to me and that is exactly what he did.
He sent me their entire line of KAF Gluten-Free products to try, so far I’ve only had a chance to make the brownies. Based on that mix alone, my sons are eager for me to try them all. There are also flours and other ingredients to create the breads from our GF chapter in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The recipe for our Gluten-Free Crusty Boule is a perfect match for the new line of KAF flours, give it a try!
One bowl, a couple of eggs, butter and water is all you need to get the job done. I used an 8″ non-stick cake pan to bake them in.
After they were cooled off I made the ganache. Heat the cream and salt in a medium sized sauce pan to just barely a simmer, turn off the heat and dump in all the chocolate and the butter, swirl the pan so the chocolate is all submerged in the cream, allow it to sit for about 3 minutes then gently whisk the ganache until smooth. Pour the ganache over the brownies and spread it smooth. Allow it to set up. If you refrigerate the brownies they are easier to get out of the pan in nice shape. You can eat them cold or let them warm up to room temperature.
Add a big scoop of the mint ice cream and some berries.
Ingredients
- 1 box King Arthur Gluten-Free Fudge Brownie Mix
Ganache
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- 6 oz heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter cold
- pinch salt
Mint Ice Cream
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 batch Ice Cream Base
Instructions
- Prepare your brownies and your ice cream base. Chill both.
Mint Ice Cream
- Mash the mint in a couple of small batches to make sure all the leaves are broken up. I used a mortar and pestle for this.
- Add the mint to the cooled down ice cream base and refrigerate overnight. I prefer to add it when the base is cold so that the mint doesn't have a cooked leaf flavor.
- Once you are ready to churn the ice cream you want to strain the mint leaves out. I used Chinois Strainer so that the ice cream would be free of leaves, but any fine mesh sieve will do the trick. Freeze according to your Ice Cream Maker's directions.
Ganache
- Heat the cream and salt in a medium sized sauce pan to just barely a simmer, turn off the heat and dump in all the chocolate and the butter, swirl the pan so the chocolate is all submerged in the cream, allow it to sit for about 3 minutes then gently whisk the ganache until smooth. Pour the ganache over the brownies and spread it smooth. Allow it to set up. If you refrigerate the brownies they are easier to get out of the pan in nice shape. You can eat them cold or let them warm up to room temperature.
I would LOVE to try the new gluten free brownie mix! I was diagnosed almost 2 years ago, and miss the delicious taste of a brownie. I’m tauted by regular wheat flour brownies all the time so this would be an incredible treat.
Oh. My. Goodness. – Those look AMAZING! I can’t wait to try them.
They look yummy! The pictures are very enticing 🙂 I love King Arthur products and my mom and I have a couple of the cookbooks. The recipes are always wonderful. Went to one of the bread-making classes and it was a blast! If you ever get the chance, I would recommend them.
Who doesn’t live brownies? Any variety!
Your recipe/blog looks awesome. It makes the strange and mysterious gluten-free not so scary (and very delicious!).
I’m always looking for ways to cheer my friends with gluten allergies.
I’d love to give your product a try!
Thank you!! 🙂
My best friend’s daughter would love these! She has celiac disease so these would go great with her chocolate addiction!!
I would love to win! we love brownies around here.
I can’t wait to try this recipe, and to try the new KA mixes!
Your blog is great and I love the Photos!!
I have a friend who’s on a gluten-free/wheat-free diet. I’d love to try these out for her.
They look wonderful…….I would definitely try this recipe. I love the King Arthur GF brownies. They are the brownie that I find closest to the wheat version. Have taken out the Healthy Bread in 5 cookbook from my local library and enjoyed the GF section. Thanks.
GF brownies would be excellent!!!
I have many friends and family that have gluten allergies and I am always looking for new receipes and products to make for them. These look decadent and delicious! I can’t wait to try them.
My husband absolutely loves brownies! These look fabulous! I have a friend who swears by FA flour and has used some of the mixes! I would love to try these on my husband!
Okay, I admit it, I want some, too!
Those look delicious, and given I am a home-made brownie snob (I usually can tell a mix a mile away – and home-made are so easy!), your experiment means that these could be worth a try. I’ll be right near Norwich, VT, myself very soon and hope to visit King Arthur. Thx for the info!
Oh, these look very delicious–and the photos are lovely, too!
I would love to try these KA products.
Oooh! Pick me! Pick me!
I get the King Arthur catalog and have wanted to try these. Thanks for the giveaway [email protected]
The pictures are great. Thanks for testing the product and sharing your experience.
I would love to try these! I love KAF and my fiancé can’t have gluten … it would be perfect!
Just found out that my daughter has a food allergy to gluten, so I’ve
been looking into gluten free recipes and options. KA products are TB, and would love to try the gluten free brownies! Thank you for the offer!
These look delicious! I would love to try this mix.
Pick me, please!