Fudgy Coconut Brownies with Chocolate Ganache
Guys, would you just look at this brownie perfection...
I made these brownies to test out for a special Valentine's Day meal for the hubs and I. I'm not big on going out to overcrowded restaurants, and frankly, I think Valentine’s Day is kinda dumb. So each year, we celebrate by staying in and cooking a really nice meal together. This year though, Scott ended up having to travel for work, so I’m celebrating Galentine’s day with a newly single friend by going out for drinks and making up a fake ex-boyfriend to bash.
Brownies have become a bit of a Valentine’s Day tradition because for our first married Valentine's Day, we made moules frites followed by these salted caramel stuffed brownies by Smitten Kitchen. Everything was SO delicious, but we ended up getting food poisoning from the mussels. Because we have a weird sense of humor, making the brownies is kinda a funny throwback to those awful few days after Valentine's. Definitely won’t be trying my hand at mussels again.
These bad boys are just brownie perfection. If you love fudgy, gooey brownies, these are the ones for you! I can’t stand cakey brownies – waste of chocolate if you ask me. So these super-moist, almost fudge-like brownies are just short of heaven. And with the chocolate ganache on top??? It’s a new level of deliciousness.
When I was looking back through my recipe index of dessert recipes, it hit me that most of my dessert recipes were healthified in some way. It's partially intentional - this blog started as a "healthy" recipe blog before expanding to talk about intuitive eating. Part of it was unintentional. I kinda got in the habit of usually making "healthier" desserts at home. I think it was originally rooted in this "clean eating" restriction-y mindset, but then just kinda became habit. I'm personally more of a savory person, so usually if I wanted something really sweet, I just go out to a bakery and get it.
Since I think it's important to look for and challenge any lingering food rules, this is one I've been trying to challenge by doing more baking at home. And when I did my annual brownie baking, I figured it was a good excuse to share a recipe that didn't involve a speck of almond flour or skimp on the sugar.
It's funny thinking back to college days when a batch of cookies wouldn't have lasted more than a couple days. What's cool about giving yourself full permission with food AND savoring the foods you eat is that you won't find yourself eating out of control. Especially with rich foods, your taste buds get satiated, so you're able to eat what you want and leave the rest. I baked these on Friday, and we just ate the last brownie last night.
For the chocolate ganache, I would go with a high quality chocolate. I used a pretty dark chocolate that wasn't super sweet, because I like the contrast of the bitter ganache and sweet brownie. Be sure not to overbake!
If you don't have an 8X8 baking dish, use aluminum foil to create a "wall" in a rectangular baking dish.
Fudgy Coconut Brownies with Chocolate Ganache
Makes 9 big brownies or 18 smaller brownies
Adapted from Flourishing Foodie.
Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon neutral tasting oil (I used canola)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Ganache:
1 3.5 ounce bar dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup coconut cream
1/3 cup shredded coconut, toasted
Flakey sea salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray an 8X8 inch baking pan with oil or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, oil, sugar until fully incorporated. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Fold into wet mixture until fully incorporated, then fold in shredded coconut.
Pour into the baking dish, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake for 20-22 minutes until set. Remove from oven and cool.
While brownies are cooling, melt the chocolate and coconut milk together in a double boiler or in 20 second increments in the microwave. Pour over brownies, spread evenly with a spatula, and sprinkle with toasted coconut and a bit of flakey sea salt.
Cut into 9 larger brownies or 18 smaller.
More brownies/blondies:
Nutella Blondies
The BEST Almond Butter Blondies
Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Squares
