Frosted Earl Grey Brownies

Simple. Warming. Delicious

As we walk into our 'Aussie winter'– many of us find ourselves drawn to slow-cooked meals, oozing puddings with lashings of cream, and… fill me up with carb-loaded pasta dishes too while we are discussing it. Why is it – when the cold hits we want yummy comfort food - frosted Earl Grey Brownies are coming to mind too! Could it be possible that our 'gut' speaks to our brain during the colder seasons - nudging us to consume more the 'winter yummies'? We know that we tend to stay indoors longer during winter; the days are shorter, darker and colder. So-called winter comfort foods are said to release glucose straight to our brain, which gives us an instant feeling of happiness when we are feeling cold, sad, tired or bored. Hence, we can easily continue the trend of comfort eating and then before we know it, we are rolling outdoors when summer hits us! SHOP NOW Comfort foods generally and historically have always received a bad rap because they are usually high in sugar, fat and refined carbohydrates. However, not all comfort foods are equal, nor are they all bad for our health. You can get the same comforting feelings from nutrient-dense winter foods swapping out ingredients for 'better' options that are equally delicious and more! Which leads us to this delicious Frosted Earl Grey Brownie recipe – a perfect chewy balance between not being too fudgy or too cake-like and more importantly, with some healthy choices. Of course, you can always swap back to your favourites – the option is yours. All we can say is that this recipe is yummy! So best you quickly pull out the cocoa powder, get the kettle going and preheat the oven now.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buckwheat flour
• 3 tablespoons sweet rice flour (different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour")
• 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
• 2 tablespoons loose-leaf Madura Earl Grey Tea, finely ground down
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg

Chocolate Earl Grey Frosting

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons loose-leaf Madura Earl Grey Tea, finely ground down
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoons milk or cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160° and line a 23cm loaf pan with baking paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, and the ground Madura Earl Grey Tea and set aside.
3. Combine the butter, cocoa powder, and sugar into a small saucepan and melt over low heat, only until butter is nearly melted – remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Stir in the vanilla and salt and then the egg.
5. Add the flour mixture and stir vigorously for about 1 minute.
6. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. The surface should appear dry and potentially starting to crack.
7. Remove from oven and let cool thoroughly before frosting.
8. In a medium bowl, beat the butter until soft and creamy.
9. Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and tea. Add to the butter and beat until combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
10. Add the vanilla and salt and beat until just combined.
11. Slowly add milk or cream, whisking as you go, until the frosting is spreadable.

Once the brownies are cool, frost away!

Madura is a 100% Australian family-owned farm committed to producing pure, healthy tea that is bursting with flavour. To read more about Madura Tea Estate or discover all of our quality blends, organic and herbal teas, we welcome you to visit our online store. 100% Australian owned