You will be surprised how wonderful rosemary is in these chocolate brownies
When I was a young Brownie, there was a girl called Rosemary who we all thought was very old indeed, she must have been pushing 15. She came to our meetings each Saturday to help Brown Owl and Tawny Owl, our leaders ( I kid you not!). One of our tasks was to do a project about Brownies in another country, we had a handbook with all the countries where there were guides and brownies and after some deliberation I chose Mexico. I gathered a whole lot of pictures….you know…cactus’s, coloured sombrero hats, maps, and pictures of coloured buildings and plant pots…to stick onto a big piece of brown paper as a poster. I took all of my pictures to put the project together at the meeting one Saturday.
I really enjoyed this kind of project but wanted to think it through a bit. There was one thing about Rosemary that I didn’t really like. I thought she was very bossy. She interpreted my slow progress as a lack design ability and took charge of sticking my pictures on. When she finished she jumped up and yelled there you go Me-hico! and knocked a whole glass of water over the lot. I was glad because I couldn’t use it and I went home and made a fantastic, spectacular one that I received a badge for.
The moral of this story is that I put Rosemary into a Brownie and there, she is good!
Rosemary Brownies with Salted Caramel
Ingredients
- 100 gm dark chocolate 70%
- 100 gm butter unsalted ( or olive oil)
- 120 gm caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 sprigs Rosemary approx 8cm/3in
- 1 leaves extra sprig of rosemary with thepicked off
- 60 gm hazelnut flour or gluten free flour
- 40 gm cocoa 2 heaped Tablespoons
Salted Caramel
- 125 gm caster sugar
- 20 ml water 1 Tablespoons
- 2 drops of lemon juice add to water
- 75 gm butter chopped cold butter (can be salted but watch the amount of salt you add later on)
- 20 ml thickened cream 1 tablespoon
- 1/4 teaspoon flaked sea salt
Instructions
These brownies can be made from oil but do try it with the nut brown butter it's deliciously nutty and sweet.
- Firstly, put two sprigs of rosemary into a pot with the butter. Slowly melt the butter till it is a light golden brown. Take off to cool, leaving the rosemary in till the last minute, then discard.
- Put the sugar into a food processor with the picked rosemary leaves and process until you have a nice green sugar.
- Melt the chocolate and set aside keeping warm
- In a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in butter and chocolate with hazelnut flour ( or GF flour) and cocoa and combine well.
- Pour into a brownie tin or bake in individual tins for approximately 15 minutes, or until just set. Test with a skewer. They can be under cooked for a fudgy effect
To make the caramel :
- Put the sugar , water and lemon into a pot and mix only till the sugar is moistened. No need to stir further.
- When the sugar is a deep brown and bubbling, remove from the heat and add the cream start to whisk in the butter, until all of the butter is incorporated.
- Taste to check the salt level and add a bit at a time, don’t add too much as the salt will take a little while to melt through. Pour into a container and let it cool and set. This can be kept in the fridge for weeks. Scoop with a warm teaspoon to form quenelles. Serve in a little quenelle ( scoop) on top and drizzle the brownies with some melted chocolate if you like.
I never would have thought to pair rosemary and chocolate like this. What a unique and great idea! That scoop of salted caramel looks sublime 🙂
What a stunning brownie! I’d be happy to see this appear at a high tea 😀
Thanks Monica . Id prefer a scone
Divine looking lil morsels Tania! And you know I never did Brownies. I wonder why? I really must ask my parents.
Wow – this combination sounds amazing – not one i would have ever thought of but I am so eager to try these!
Great introductory story but not sure about the rosemary. But the caramel would make up for it.
What an unique idea of flavouring brownies with rosemary!
I was a Brownie for a very brief time too, I also had a HORRIBLE TERRIBLE also BOSSY boss called Rosemary.
I’m very thankful that she didn’t put me off one of my very favourite herbs, and I think that the association of chocolate and rosemary is a much better memory 🙂 Great recipe indeed!
Thank you and great to know you understand
You had me at Rosemary. Then you add brownie AND salted caramel? Decadence and genius. Yum!
Hello,,,, chcolate and caramel will always win
These sound perfect for my friend who’s eating gluten-free! Thanks for sharing!
Yes perfectly gluten free
Dear Tania, it looks amazing as usual, will try that one, for sure ! loved the story about the bossy girl, seems like you draw a story out of every single one you come across !
Hello sweet little Zaza, so nice to have your comment…..yes I can make a story out of pretty much anything. The result of an adventurous childhood. x
I love the story. You sure showed Rosemary! 🙂
Hi Sophie…. I sure did
I love rosemary in baking – it cuts through the sweetness and works wonderfully with salty sweet things like caramel too. These brownies look too delicious – love the dollops of salty caramel on top!
Thanks I appreciate your comments , queen of baking
Tania, you are too funny! 🙂 And I’ve never thought of putting rosemary in a brownie before, but it’s an intriguing idea!
Interesting… rosemary in a brownie. Considering the prodigious amount of rosemary I have growing, I might just have to try that! (and I liked your Brownie story, too… made me giggle).
looking forward to seeing that
I love putting herbs in desserts, but never though to add them to brownies. And the salted caramel is such a nice touch. A very interesting and original recipe.
Thank you Victoria I total appreciate your comments
I always wanted to be a Brownie but my mother wouldn’t let me. I had to do ballet! I used to be so envious of the girls who were Brownies and how they were able to wear their Brownie uniform to school. I’ve never put rosemary into a brownie! I’d love to try this xx
Well Charlie I got kicked out of ballet. They said I was not dainty enough……you could say that then!.I always hated people seeing me in my uniform,. How opposite could we get?
What a delicious and decadent looking brownie Tania! Definitely the type of thing I’d love to see at high tea. 🙂 Thanks for joining this months blog hop.
Thanks for hosting the hop and inspiring me
what an interesting and delicious idea! i’ve never had rosemary with chocolate, but now i’m intrigued. the plop of caramel is a decadent touch!