Jamie Olivers Ginger Brownie

I wonder if there’s anyone who has not tried a brownie before? If that’s you, then today is your lucky day! There’s no way you can turn the page before trying this recipe for one of the most popular desserts in the world.

It’s really easy, especially if you have a food processor. All you need to do then is weigh the ingredients directly in the bowl, process them together, put them into the baking dish, bake, and the dessert is ready.

Do not be confused by the presence of ginger in the recipe. There’s not too much, so the flavor isn’t too strong. There’s just a hint to keep you guessing.

I adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver’s book Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals. The main change concerned the variety of ginger used. Instead of the candied ginger, as in the original, I have used fresh. The benefit of this change is that this recipe can be made without using a food processor or blender. Also, instead of self-raising flour, I used regular flour plus baking powder, just because the first one is not so easy to find.

Ingredients

Let’s take a closer look at what we will need to cook.

200 g (7,1 oz) Dark chocolate 70%+

• There is clearly no need to save money on chocolate in this recipe;
• lower cocoa content will affect taste and texture.

250 g (9 oz) Unsalted Butter

• the butter should be soft;
• just take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start cooking.

200 g (7,1 oz) of White Sugar

• I used cane (brown) sugar, as it was in the original recipe, which I advise you;
• the use of white sugar is acceptable;
• the difference is minimal, but there is – in taste and texture;
• brown sugar has a more pronounced caramel flavor;
• in addition, brown sugar is more humid. We have a fast home kitchen – so let’s not worry about it, but in serious cooking you need to adjust the amount of liquid in the recipe when replacing white sugar with brown or vice versa.

6 tbsp Cocoa Powder

4 tbsp all-purpose wheat flour

1/2 tsp of baking powder

• its composition: soda, flour, citric acid;
• You can also find ammonium on the market, it is also an opener, but it is intended for “dry” baking, such as cookies, it is not suitable here;
• once again, just in case of ammonium, it does not fit!

50 g (1,8 oz) fresh ginger (finely grated)

• rub ginger on a fine grater;
• Ideally, if you grate on a microplane, you’ll get shallower.

4 eggs

A handful of dry Cherries or Cranberries

A handful of nuts of your choice

Heavy Cream

• optionally, used for feeding;
• the chilled ones are whipped more easily.

Equipment

Food Processor

• is used for maximum simplification and acceleration of the process: put the bowl on the kitchen scales, threw the necessary ingredients, stirred – poured into the form, sent to the oven. That’s it. Done.
• if you don’t have a food processor- you can try to use a blender to mix the ingredients;
• if there is no other – use a water bath to melt chocolate. Cool a little. Add the butter, sugar mix until homogeneous. Next, eggs and everything else. The dough is ready – then follow the usual instructions.

Method

Step 0 

Preheat oven to 180˚C / 360 F

Step 1

In the bowl of the processor combine chocolate (200 g (7,1 oz)), butter (250 g (9 oz)), sugar (200 g (7,1 oz)), cocoa powder (6 tbsp), all-purpose wheat flour (4 tbsp), baking powder (1/2 tsp), finely grated ginger (50 g (1 oz)), and 4 eggs.

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Step 2

Process until well blended.

If you don’t have a food processor, use a hand-held blender and a bowl but first melt the chocolate in a water bath, cool a little. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until homogeneous.

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Step 3

Prepare a square or rectangular baking tin by lining it with baking parchment. (25×25 cm or 30×20 cm)

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level it with a silicone spatula or a spoon.

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Step 4

Sprinkle the dried cherries or cranberries and nuts over the top and press gently into the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Cool in the tin and cut into big squares to serve. Serve with whipped cream.

Step 5 (Optional)

Whisk 100-150 ml of cream using a mixer at high speed, until stiff peaks form. (This is when you can turn the mixer bowl upside down and the cream doesn’t fall out.)  Finally, here’s a lifehack for you: If you feel guilty about eating sweet desserts, try whipping the cream with a regular, hand whisk. If you succeed, you will use up the calories you’re going to eat in the brownie!

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