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.
Oh My those brownies look sooo good- and I wish I had an ice cream maker because mint is one of my favorites…after chocolate of course!
All of this sounds wonderful. My good friend has Celiac disease and I’d love to share the brownies with her. I’ll definitely pass along the recommendation.
Ooh these look fabulous. I was drooling over that first picture with the mound of blackberries then I saw it topped with ice cream too! I have to try these.
No one could tell they came from a premix!! What a cute little boy Mike has!
I am loving the way the mint gets muddled and mixed with the cream to make that ice cream. And I’d never have guessed those brownies were gluten-free. They are a match made in heaven.
King Arthur is one of my favorite VT companies- I make sure to buy whatever products of theirs I can find here in CA! I also have a new ice cream maker that I have been itching to use- the mint recipe sounds PERFECT.
chocolate is the name of the game – gluten-free or otherwise – these are really wonderful looking brownies –
I like King Arthur Organic Unbleached flour for baking … haven’t seen the gf brownie mix, but will look for it!
Hi Zoe,
I absolutly love King Arthur flour. This would be a great recipe to make for our church services. I would really like to share this on facebook !!! Is there a way to link this page on my facebook page !!!
Would love to try this new product from King Arthur. I love all of the products from King Arthur that I have tried! Thanks for the chance to win a box of brownie mix.
I just started baking bread using the ciabatta bread recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a day. I’m so happy. Thank you.
My best friend is a celiac, and we both LOVE chocolate anything. My favorite dessert to make for her is a flourless chocolate cake, but this could be a real contender. Thanks!
A sweet story and delicious brownies. I’d like some KA flour mix!
Those brownies look amazing, and the ice-cream too. I actually am growing mint in my garden this year, so I could even use my own mint!
WOW, the brownies and ice cream look amazing! My sister is GF and will be thrilled to learn about this mix.
One question, though. Might be silly, but I was wondering what KIND of mint you use for the ice cream? Just want to be sure. I looooove mint ice cream as does my husband, so I’d really love to give it a try. I could kick myself for giving away my ice cream maker years ago. WHAT was I thinking?!
I have a friend who is celiac. Since his wife died and I moved 4 hours away, he doesn’t get his usual treats. I would love to introduce him to these products!
I have a good friend that is on a gluten free diet. I would love to win and surprise her with yummy treats!!!
Ohhh…those do look fabulous! Even if I don’t win I will have to try them.
always interested in new GF products!
I keep hearing amazing things about these mixes, so I would love to give them a try and pass them along to my gluten-free friends.
I’m a random person and more than willing to be a random winner! You may as well pick me – I’m going to try that ice cream recipe no matter what so I may as well have something to put it on 🙂
It never would have occurred to me to match blackberries with brownies and mint – -thanks for the great idea!
Wow – those brownies look amazing! And from a mix too! I can’t wait to try them.
What a sweet story to go with such a decadent treat! I can’t wait to make the ice cream and brownies!
My SIL hasn’t been able to find GF products she likes. I’d love to bake these for her.