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’m so happy to hear that King Arthur is making GF products! And also that your new book has some GF options. I have your original book which I love, but I mostly bake gluten-free these days as I find myself more and more sensitive to wheat. Even though I am primarily a bake from scratch baker, I will check out King Arthur’s product line for those times when I need a quick baked good.
Yay! My sister is GF and I’m always looking for new easy items for the pantry.
so I read mint..then brownies.. couldn’t pass up the beautiful posted picture of yours on foodgawker.com. My friend is gluten free due to allergies, and I am constantly baking things that she can’t try – I told her if I found something in my price range (I am a poor college student) that was gluten free- I would make it for her! I am not sure how expensive this is, but I am definitely willing to try it!
My friend recently found out that he has celiac disease and he’s pretty bummed about it because he’s a bit of a wheat fiend. I’m determined to prove to him that gluten-free can be just as good, and that brownie mix would probably help. 😉
i am intrigued by the claim on the box, “brownies stay moist longer”…!
I’ve been dying to try King Arthur’s gluten free stuff! The brownies look amazing.
Now you’ve got me curious about the gluten-free brownies. They look so delicious!
mmm… chocolate! i’m always interested in easier ways to make gluten-free food, so i’m dying to try the mix!
The Brownies look so moist, fudgy, and delicious! I have used various King Arthur Flours for many years, and will look for their new products! I know the ice cream would be wonderful, too. That picture says it all !!!!
thanks for the tips, I love to try the brownie mixes.
I wish I could have those sitting in front of me right now. Looks so yummy!
I would love some brownies right now! It’s been one of those weeks.
Beautiful picture of brownie, ice cream, and mint leaf!
Enter me in the draw. We love chocolate!
looks wonderful! thanks for the tips!
Love the blog…just found it today. Trying the ABin5 today as well.
These brownies look amazing..a must try. Thanks for sharing!!
Julie
I would love to try the brownies. My mother grows mint and has TONS of it, so I’m going to try the ice cream.
Yum–brownies!!
Never would have guessed these are from a mix! It looks like the perfect brownie! The mint ice cream sounds fabulous too:)
I always look forward to reading your post every since I found your site. You are so creative. You have inspired me to be creative and make my brownie mixes into something that looks and taste home made. Thanks for the post.
They do look delicious, though everything on this site does.
These brownies look delish!! And the mint ice cream was a great idea, chocolate and mint is one of my fave combos!
They look yummy, and the icecream maker goes on the wish list again. Thanks for all your great recipes.
They look wonderful! Thanks for the tip–I hate not having options for my GF guests.
I am an avid fan of King Arthur products. I would love to try them