I don’t like brownies and this dessert is not a brownie. Yes, it is named “Chocolate Cranberry Brownie” but it is somewhat different from the popular american sweet. I took advantage of the word “brownie”  to give an idea of the consistency: very dense and full in chocolate. Since it doesn’t contain flour, is a dessert suitable for people who need to follow a celiac diet.

My recipe is a slightly modified version of an old traditional Neapolitan cake called “caprese”, a delicious dessert made with chocolate and almonds, externally crunchy and wet inside. It is easy and quick to prepare.

  • You can skip the typical steps typically necessary to bake a cake: no need to incorporate the flour, to mix the right quantity of yeast, to knead and wait for the rising.
  • You can keep your hands clean while making it (unless you want to lick your fingers).

I do not bake cakes very often here in London and I force myself to follow a diet low in sugar. I guess it’s because I’m a sugar addicted (!) and I need to contain my gluttony. Anyway this was a  kind of half sin because of its reduced amount of sugar.

In this version of “caprese” I replaced the almonds with a fruity ingredient that can balance the otherwise too predominant chocolate flavour. I found out that cranberries are a perfect match, smoothing out the intense taste of this indulgent sweet thanks to the bitter and sour taste of the berries.

To make a simple and natural cranberry sauce just place the cranberries into a stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 10 – 15 mins.

Ingredients

4 eggs
300 g dark chocolate
50 g sugar
150 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp baking soda
200 g cranberry

  1. Cut the dark chocolate in pieces and melt it in a pan on a low heat together with the butter. Stir continuously.
  2. When you get a smooth chocolate sauce, without lumps, turn the fire off and let cool down.
  3. In a bowl mix the egg yolks with sugar to get a creamy consistency. Keep the whites aside.
  4. When the chocolate sauce has reached the room temperature, add the yolks/sugar mixture to the chocolate.
  5. In  a separate bowl beat the egg whites with a mixer till you get foam-like stiff texture.
  6. Now add the egg whites to the chocolate sauce gently stirring until you have a smooth mixture. Add the baking soda.
  7. Add some of your cranberry sauce and stir. Place on a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve with the remaining cranberry sauce.