And it’s not more chocolate or more butter or actual fudge. It’s a vegetable!
Up your brownie game today with these helpful tips from Delish
There are many debates about brownies – with nuts or without, frosted or plain, dense and fudgy or cakey and light – but one thing we can all agree on, we want our brownies to be be rich. They are brownies after all. Rich, moreso than fudginess or anything else, is what we expect when we bite into a brownie. And brownies are also not blondies, they are most decidedly chocolate and they should taste like it!
How to infuse richness into a recipe that is plenty rich already? As illustrated above – adding more rich ingredients or more fat doesn’t necessarily result in a rich end product.
If it’s frosted with buttercream and topped with sprinkles, is it still a brownie? photo courtesy of Spicy Southern Kitchen
That’s why this secret ingredient is so wild – it’s not at all what you’d expect. It is a veggie that is seen more often in soups – definitely not something you’d ever consider when debating ingredients for dessert.
So what is it?
Drum roll please – BUTTERNUT SQUASH!
I know you’re probably freaking out right now thinking “there’s no way!” and “it can’t be!” But you gotta believe us – it’s true!
As soon as you add it to your favourite brownie recipe you’ll taste the difference it makes. Better yet, do yourself a favour and chuck your recipe. It’s time you made this your new go to.
You can see the squash, but you can’t taste it. All you taste are absolutely unparalleled rich and decadent brownies. Photo courtesy The Butternut Squash Cook, HarperCollins.
Butternut Brownies
created by Kerry Knight in The Everyday Squash Cook
Ingredients
1.5 cups butternut squash but into small dice
6 Tbsp butter
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment, allowing a few inches to hang over each side. Butter the parchment paper.
Bring a saucepan filled with enough water to cover the squash to a boil. Cook squash until tender, approx 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. This can be done in advance and stored in fridge.
In a bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking powder.
In a separate bowl cream together the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add the chocolate and cocoa and mix well until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix and until well blended. Fold in the squash (should be room temperature or cold).
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the centre comes out clean (a little melted chocolate is fine!). Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
Now those parchment ends that are sticking out are going to come in handy. Grad the parchment and lift the slab of brownies from the pan. Place on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares.