A few weeks ago someone at work came into the office with tales of a delicious cherry bakewell brownie she’d had in a cafe. It sounded like something I’d like to eat so I had to try and make it myself. And the gluten free brownies I made are exceptional.
I wanted to ramp up the almond flavour to make sure it came through the rich dark chocolate so I replaced flour with ground almonds, added almond extract and balls of marzipan. Yes I know a bakewell doesn’t have marzipan but it’s my brownie and I’ll add what I like! Plus it goes lovely and gooey when cooked without melting away in to the mix. 
I’ve used cherries in kirsch because a) they’re amazing and b) they can go in with their gooey juice. But you could use a tin or jar of cherries in syrup if that’s what you’d prefer. In fact now Christmas is over I need to stock up on a few jars as they disappear from my local shops for most of the year. I got them from Marks and Spencer and had to stop myself eating the lot with a spoon. 
Oh yes, I also made a video of this recipe. It isn’t great, but I wanted to get over my fear of sticking my face on YouTube so this is the result. It is clunky but I am sure that future ones will be better.
Gluten free brownies inspired by the classic flavours of cherry bakewell tart.
Ingredients
- Dark chocolate: 280g
- Unsalted butter: 125g
- Dark brown soft sugar: 250g
- Eggs: 3
- Greek yoghurt: 75g
- Almond extract: 1 tsp
- Ground almonds: 80g
- Baking powder: 1tsp
- Milk
- Cherries in kirsch: 4-6 tsp
- Marzipan: 100g
Instructions
- Take the yoghurt out of the fridge along with the butter and eggs so they can all come to room temp.
- Heat the oven to 150c and line a brownie tray.
- Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pan (or a bain marie) and leave to cool.
- Wisk your eggs in a food processor, stand mixer or hand whisk, and then add the sugar, yoghurt and almond extract and mix until all frothy and pale.
- Gently fold in the flour and baking powder.
- Add a good splash of milk to loosen the mix and quickly mix.
- Pour half into your tray, dollop on the cherries and gently push in the marzipan- not all the way down, you don't want it touching the bottom. Pour over the rest of the brownie mix and smooth over.
- Cook for 40-45mins. You won't get a cocktail stick to come out clean because of the cherries so you will need to make the call.
- Allow to cook before you cut or they will fall apart. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and icing sugar before serving.
Notes
There is a video of the recipe on YouTube - https://youtu.be/nsH0JH4zW5c
I’d love to know what you think about these and whether a brownie trumps a tart when it comes to cherry bakewell!
If you love brownies in all their forms, pop over to my ultimate guide to chocolate brownies.
