Gingerbread Brownies With Cream Cheese Frosting
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
- 325g/11.48ozs. white chocolate
- 135g/4.77ozs. butter
- 3 eggs
- 60g/2.12ozs. chestnut flour or buckwheat flour
- 3 tablespoons gingerbread spices*
- 3/4 cup crystallised ginger, chopped into small pieces
- 3/4 cup Heath's toffee bits (you can also use regular white chocolate bits)
- Pinch of salt
- 250g/8.83ozs cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup icing or confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
Buyer's note: I used a gingerbread spice mix by Gewurzhaus that has cassia, coriander, star anise, ginger and nutmeg banda in it. There is a store in Sydney's Strand Arcade as well as 6 in Victoria and online. For Heath's toffee bits you can buy these at USA Foods online. Chestnut flour is available at gourmet stores or at Cheznuts online. Buckwheat flour is found at the supermarket in the health food section.
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 170c/340F and line a 20x20cm (8x8 inch) square tin with parchment. Melt the white chocolate and butter on low to medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Remove from the heat and then stir in the eggs, one at a time to form a uniform syrup.
Step 2 - Stir in the flour and mix in the flour and stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes. Then mix in the crystallised ginger pieces, toffee bits and salt. Scoop into the prepared tin and then bake for 20-25 minutes. The toffee bits might bake a bit strangely and create little holes but don't worry, we are going to ice the top. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Step 3 - Place the icing sugar in a food processor and process until lumps are dissolved. Then add the cream cheese and lemon juice and process until it becomes smooth and spreadable. This isn't very sweet and balances the sweet brownie itself. Spread over the brownie and then sprinkle with coconut.