Stem Ginger, Pear and Almond Brownies

It’s finally December, the happiest month of the year! The collective festive spirit is contagious, and I just can’t seem to get enough of it, so much so I’d bottle it and preserve the heartwarming feeling to use like perfume later if I could! It’s the season of giving, sharing and spreading the love. And the best form of my expression is more baked goods, because who wouldn’t love a basket of fresh homemade goodies? Here is one of many that I intend to work my way through this month - an elevated brownie which screams all things December! The base is a simple chocolate brownie that’s taken up a notch with brown butter, and spiced with the usual suspects - cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. We go on to top this base with a glorious bounty of stem ginger, pears, almonds and more chocolate. This is decadent and at the same time, filled with a lot of good stuff that tints everyday of this winter with a ray of hope.

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Ingredients

  • 150g butter

  • 50g dark chocolate

  • 75g white spelt flour

  • 50g ground almonds

  • 25g cocoa powder

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger

  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves

  • Pinch of salt

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 2 large eggs

  • 75g honey

  • 50g soft light brown sugar

  • 1 tbsp stem ginger syrup

  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

  • 60ml whole milk

For the topping

  • 2 small pears, cored and thinly sliced

  • 60g stem ginger in syrup, drained and sliced

  • 60g almonds, roughly chopped

  • 30g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Method of Preparation

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 175°C. Prepare a 20cm square baking tin, and set aside.

  2. To make the brown butter, cut the butter into even sized cubes and place in a medium saucepan over low heat. Make sure the saucepan is of a contrasting colour so as to be able to see the colour change. Once the butter melts completely, the milk solids will begin to separate. Keep a close watch, and gently stir at even intervals. The butter will begin to foam again, and change colour to a nutty brown. Immediately turn off the heat and transfer to another bowl, to stop the cooking process. Add the dark chocolate, and stir to melt + incorporate. Set the mixture aside to cool.

  3. Sift together the white spelt flour + ground almonds + cocoa powder + cinnamon powder + nutmeg powder + ground ginger + ground cloves + salt + baking powder, and set aside.

  4. To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs + honey + soft light brown sugar + stem ginger syrup + vanilla essence. Whisk together, using a hand mixer, till smooth and creamy. Fold in the flour mix one-third at a time. Then fold in the butter and chocolate mix. Then fold in the whole milk. Transfer the batter to the prepared tin. Top with pear slices + sliced stem ginger + chopped almonds + chopped dark chocolate.

  5. Bake for 35 minutes. A toothpick might come out a little sticky, but that’s fine. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Then remove with the parchment paper and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for ~2 hours to allow the brownies to set before serving!