Lavender Brownies

If you like the combination of dark chocolate and lavender, you will love these Lavender Brownies, too! They are rich, fudgy, not overly sweet, and with a subtle botanical flavour.

Floral-Infused Baked Recipes

Hello everyone – happy Friday! I hope you are ready for weekend. Oh yeah, I look forward to it – to continue tackling all this wood in our backyard (Where’s a sarcastic smile?) Anyway, I think we should celebrate Friday with something utterly delicious. What about these Lavender Brownies?

I don’t share baked desserts on my blog as often as other bloggers, but I’ve never considered myself a baker anyway. For instance, this summer I’ve baked desserts only 5 times… which sounds a lot on second thought haha. Am I a baker? Anyway, I must tell all those times my baked things were floral-infused. For example, I made these Lilac Shortbread Cookies, these Rose Shortbread Cookies, and these Lavender Shortbread Cookies.

Now it’s time for these Lavender Brownies.

Lavender Brownies

Have you ever tried the combination of dark chocolate and lavender? It’s splendid, in my opinion. (You can also check this Chocolate Lavender Mint Sorbet) Unlike overly sweet white chocolate, which also works well with lavender, dark chocolate nicely balances and settles the lavender flavour. So, if you’ve never tried lavender desserts yet, start with the combination of dark chocolate and lavender as the flavour is more settled and delicate.

In fact, I made these brownies along with lavender shortbread and gave most of them Andrew for his work. While the brownies were the hit and disappeared quickly, Andrew’s co-workers were more skeptical about the cookies. Why? As I said, because of the not so prominent botanical flavour.

These Lavender Brownies Are Not Too Sweet

Besides, these brownies are not overly sweet. While most brownie recipes call for at least 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, I used less that one cup. Plus the addition of extra dark chocolate. Yes, the reduced amount of sugar probably slightly affects the texture, but as you can see, it’s still moist, fudgy, and chewy. So if you want a decadent chocolatey dessert without too much of sugar, this dessert is for you!

I hope you like these Lavender Brownies, and you will give it a try soon. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.

See you soon!

Lavender Brownies

Recipe by Ben | HavocinthekitchenCourse: Baking: Sweet, Brownies and Bars

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Chilling Time

2

hours

If you like the combination of dark chocolate and lavender, you will love these Lavender Brownies, too! They are rich, fudgy, not overly sweet, and with a subtle botanical flavour.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks or 227 gr.) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

• 300 gr. dark or extra dark chocolate (70% and higher), break into chunks

• 2/3 to 1 cup light-brown or old-fashioned brown sugar, firmly packed

• 1 tbsp. dried lavender buds, finely minced

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 4 large eggs

• 1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup dark (unsweetened) cocoa powder

• 1/2 tsp. of salt

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line ~ a 9,5 by 9,5-inch (~24 cm) baking pan with aluminum foil and let it overhang the ends. Lightly grease or coat the foil with cooking spray / oil.
• In a medium saucepan melt the butter and chocolate over low-medium heat, stirring with a wooden spatula often (As the chocolate can stick to the bottom.)
• Remove from heat and let it cool few minutes. Stir in the sugar, lavender, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix with a spatula, until the sugar dissolves. At this stage (Before adding raw eggs and flour), you can try the mixture and decide if the sweetness if enough for you – and add more (another 1/2 cup of sugar or so).
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, vigorously mixing the mixture.
• Stir in the flour and cocoa powder, just until combined. Do not overmix. The batter should look sticky and moist (If a bit dry, you can add in a bit more of melted chocolate, milk, or simply water – about 1 tsp. or so.)
• Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake (middle rack) for about 20 minutes, then begin checking frequently for doneness. When the center top is barely firm, insert a toothpick in the center – it should come out mostly clean, with a few fudgy crumbs. It’s always better to underbake than overbake the brownies, if you love fudgy and creamy brownies. If you prefer cakey texture, bake few minutes longer.
• Remove the brownies from the oven. Let stand until warm, about 20 minutes then refrigerate, preferably for few hours. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Notes

• There’s a reduced amount of sugar in these brownies, about 2/3 cup of brown sugar (Most brownies suggest at least 1 and 1/2 cup). With the combination of extra dark chocolate, these brownies are only subtly sweet. Please feel free to adjust to your preferences by adding more sugar.
• These brownies are pretty thick. You can make them thinner by using a large pan (~ 9 by 13 inch or about 24 by 33 cm.) In this case, the baking time will be less, keep an eye on your brownies, after about 12 minutes of baking.

Ben | Havocinthekitchen

Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.