Photo by Dini of Giramuk’s Kitchen
I am so pleased to be able to have my good blogger buddy, Dini from The Flavor Bender, presenting a guest post on Recipe for Perfection. I first met Dini on Twitter, and I really enjoyed reading her blog right from the start. It’s warm, welcoming, upbeat, and always has something completely unique to look at. I couldn’t be more honored that she’s sharing her talents- and her basil double chocolate brownies- with us today. Go check out The Flavor Bender!
-Katie
Hello all Brownie Fans!
I’m Dini from The Flavor Bender, and I am honoured to be able to do a post on Katie’s fantastic blog, Recipe for Perfection.
I absolutely adore brownies, and I do hope that my own twist to a brownie will get Katie and her wonderful readers as excited as I am.
We all have our favourites whether it’s a fudgy brownie, cakey brownie, blondies or so many other possibilities! One of my constant obsessions is combining sweet and spice together and this brownie is the happy result of one of those adventures!
This is my Basil Double Chocolate Brownie.
Basil is one of my favourite herbs. The combo of chocolate and Basil seemed like a great idea to me and I decided to fuse them together in a brownie. The earthy flavour of Basil with the sweetness of the chocolate worked so much better than I could have imagined! I love having an especially fudgy brownie with a glass of milk… not sure if that’s a thing, but it’s definitely my thing & I love it!
Do come over and say hi to me at The Flavor Bender too! I have a soft spot for desserts of all kinds (especially involving chocolate), but I dabble in quick and easy meals and snack ideas and whatever else strikes my fancy!
Basil Double Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 oz packet of Basil leaves and stalks
- 4 oz of unsalted butter
- 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate I have used unsweetened before, but the intense chocolate flavour tends to mask the subtle Basil flavour
- 7 oz granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 oz Flour
- 1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips Or you can use semi-sweet, white chocolate or a combination
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat with the Basil (leaves and stalks). After the butter is completely melted, turn off the heat, cover the pot and leave the basil in the butter for up to 1 hour to infuse the Basil flavour into the butter.
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Strain the Butter mix, and squeeze as much butter out of the Basil leaves and discard the Basil.
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Heat the Butter and chocolate together in a heat proof bowl in the microwave or in a saucepan over low-medium heat and stir till chocolate has melted.
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Leave to cool for a few minutes, while you prepare the baking pan.
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Grease and line a 8x8 metal pan with parchment paper.
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Add the sugar, salt and vanilla, and mix the batter to incorporate the sugar well.
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Add the eggs one at a time, whisking between additions.
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In a separate bowl, mix the flour and chocolate chips until chocolate chips are coated with flour.
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Add the flour and chocolate chips and mix until flour is just incorporated.
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Pour batter into cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes (or until a toothpick that is inserted comes out clean).
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Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Gently remove the brownies from the pan and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Cut them into 2x 2 inch squares.
Recipe Notes
I usually like making brownies with unsweetened chocolate, but for this particular recipe I found that the intense chocolate flavour masked the Basil flavour. So I went with bittersweet chocolate, which is the next best thing. These taste even better the day after, IF they last that long that is 🙂
Dini @ giramuks kitchen
Yaay Katie! Thank you for featuring my brownies on your blog! It was so much fun making these brownies! I hope it lives up-to your amazing brownie creations! You know I love your brownie recipes, and somehow everytime I think about or see a brownie it keeps reminding me of you! 😀
Katie
So glad to have you! 🙂 You’ve inspired me to ask for an ice cream maker for Christmas!
Sam @ PancakeWarriors
Man basil in brownies -seriously yum! What a fantastic idea – I’ve gotta try this!
Rachael {La Fuji Mama}
I LOVE basil in desserts, but have yet to try it in brownies…now I’m wondering why not! Wow, these look good!
Laura @MotherWouldKnow
I’ve never even imagined, much less tried, the combination of basil and chocolate. It sounds enticing and your description makes me want to run out to the store to grab a couple of bunches of basil to try it out. (No need to buy more chocolate – that’s always in great supply at my house:)
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist
Basil in brownies? I am in. These look absolutely marvelous.
Josie
Basil in brownies!!!!! WOW, love the idea 🙂 Now I HAVE to try these 🙂
Rachel
the oven temperature is missing..
Katie Moseman
Weird! Don’t know how that happened. 🙂 I’ve fixed it. (It’s 350 F.)