Olive Oil, Almond and Sea Salt Brownies
These brownies are so rich and decadent thanks to the secret ingredient of espresso which intensifies the flavour of cocoa. A sprinkle of sea salt also enhances the sweetness in the brownies and the almond chunks and olive oil ground the sweet treat. Swapping out your usual butter for olive oil in this recipe not only makes for dense, intense brownies, but also means you’re consuming good fats and antioxidants whilst eating dessert! Yes, there’s sugar in these brownies, but they’re supposed to be a treat and there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of sweetness in an otherwise balanced diet. Treat yourself!
Olive Oil, Almond and Sea Salt Brownies
1+1/3 cup plain flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup caster sugar
¾ cup cocoa
250ml/1 cup Olive Oil
Shot of espresso OR teaspoon of instant coffee with a tablespoon of boiling water
4 eggs
¼ cup almonds, roughly chopped
A sprinkle of sea salt flakes just before baking
Preheat oven at 180C and line a 25cm x 25cm square pan with baking paper.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the oil and espresso and beat until just combined. Whisk up the eggs, add them to the batter and beat until just incorporated. Beating them for this short amount of time will keep your brownies dense, moist and fudgy, whereas overbeating will make them more spongey, fluffy and cake-like. Stir through the roughly chopped almonds.
Spread the mixture evenly into the lined baking tin and sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake the brownies for 30 minutes or until the surface turns crispy. If your brownies seem a little under done, that's okay! They'll firm up once cool whilst remaining nice and fudge-y.
Dish up warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or Greek yoghurt.
