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.
The picture is making my mouth water so I can imagine what these brownies and ganache and mint ice cream will do. What a dazzling combo this is. Now all I need to find is a good chef!………
signed by an elder with the desire to be able to do these things again.
This is a great pitch! I’ve been curious about the gluten free mixes, and its nice to hear that someone who wouldn’t normally go that direction is sold based on taste.
First timer here… the pictures and recipe are wonderful.
These brownies look sinful.
OH MY GOSH does that look good! I am going to have to try the mint ice cream and brownies.
I had to write! I made these yesterday and after two years of gluten free baking…THIS BROWNIE is the winner! They are delicious beyond delicious. Most people would NEVER know that they were eating a gluten free product. Outstanding product. Thanks Zoe and King Arthur!
Looks really taste !
These look beautiful! I can’t wait to try them….The ice cream sounds equally delicious!
These look wonderful! I can’t wait to try them! Pick me!!! 🙂
I am gluten free for 14 months now and would love to receive the gluten free flour mixes from King Arthur. I love your posts!
I am so glad I found your blog! Love it! And these brownies look oh so yummy!
Would love to try them.
love learning about new gluten free options, would love to try
this is lovely!
A lot of the children that I see for therapy are on gluten free diets. Their mothers are always complaining about the lack of sweets or having to bake from scratch. This may be the trick! Plus they look wonderful.
I’m going to make brownie ice cream sandwiches out of them if I win!
I’m such a King Arthur fan already–I’m impressed that they’re featuring gluten-free products now. Did you see their pizza crust? Yum.
Wow – I am just starting to explore gluten free baking as an option and I can’t wait to try it.
What a great idea to make, it looks so sophisticated, like a dessert in a 5 star restaurant… Great idea !! I need to try it too
Thanks for the mint ice cream recipe!! I needed some inspiration and that sounds great.
Okay YUM! These look amazing. KA is my favorite flour! (I once spent 3 hours on the website) I have never tired their mixes. This one looks amazing. There is a chocolate cake that I wan to try as well. Thanks for this post! Can I eat brownies for breakfast? 🙂
Your photo is fabulous, and makes me want a bite RIGHT NOW!
They look like the best box brownies I’ve ever seen!! I’m totally impressed, have never made any baked goods from packet mixes but think I would be willingly to try those 🙂
They look awesome. I’m not on a gluten-free diet but AM interested in baking gluten-free, just to be able to say I can. 🙂
They sound wonderful!! I would love to give them a try!!!