pumpkin chocolate brownies

pumpkin and chocolate layered brownie

It was time to whip out the studio lights this week – not ideal but despite living in the sunniest city in Canada it is still darn-well pitch black by the time I finish work and take public transit home (never thought I would be a daily public-transit-er! However, I never thought I would live in a real city either..)

pumpkin chocolate brownie

It is also darn well freezing. We truly believed we had left the -30s behind when we departed the Northwest Territories 4 months ago. Not so – Calgary has hit some frigid temperatures this last week in stark contrast to the positives we had all the week prior. The Canada Goose has emerged from storage and the desire to stay home, drink tea and nibble baked goods besieges.

turning brownies into circles

Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies
Original Martha Stewart recipe adapted into a high protein dessert The Iron You and ever so slightly adapted here

120 grams butter
170 grams dark (70%) chocolate, chopped
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 scoops (¼ cup) protein powder (either vanilla or unflavored)
1 tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup raw (or dark brown) sugar
8 egg whites (or 4 large eggs)
1 ½ cups (or 320 gram can) pure pumpkin puree
1 tsp each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) degrees. Lightly grease or line a 9-inch square baking pan.

Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth.

Place sugar and eggs in blender and blend until fluffy. Add flour, protein powder, baking powder and cayenne pepper and blend until smooth. Pour half the batter (about two cups) into the chocolate mixture and mix well. To the remaining batter in the blender, add the pumpkin and spices. Blend well.

Pour half of the chocolate batter into the prepared pan, spreading to the corners with a spatula. Pour over all the pumpkin batter and again smooth to the edges. Dollop on remaining chocolate and smooth over into even layer. The layers will mix slightly but this just adds to the marbled layer effect.
Bake until the top is just set and beginning to crack – about 30 minutes. Check that the center is cooked with a cake tester. Let cool in pan and refrigerate overnight or serve warm with yogurt and fresh fruit.

These are great straight from the refrigerator with a dense, fudgy texture and a hint of warming spices.

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