The Begrudging Baker: Gooey Gluten-free Chocolate Brownies

Wheat is one of the most fundamental ingredients in the vast majority of most baked goods.

Depending on the type of baked good, you're often relying on gluten strands to make up the structure. So what if you're gluten intolerant, or coeliac?

Well, it can make things a bit tricky. If you or anyone you are baking for has this problem, you'll have to get creative.

But I like to look at it as an opportunity to use ingredients I wouldn't usually, or use them in a different way to usual.

My boyfriend's sister is coeliac, so when I decided to bake for a family gathering, I had to get online looking for gluten free recipes.

Some of them seemed to have about 100 ingredients, all of which were obscure and not obtainable from my local supermarket.

Then I found this recipe from elizabethskitchendiary.co.uk. It's a great recipe. Rather than flour you use ground almonds and the end result is everything a chocolate brownie should be; moist, gooey and topped with a shiny crust.

So thank you, Elizabeth. These brownies are great and I'm sure coeliacs and non-coeliacs alike will enjoy them.

This recipe serves 16.

You will need:

150g dark chocolate (check that it is gluten free!)

3 large eggs

170g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

150g muscovado sugar

100g ground almonds

1 tsp vanilla extract

85g chopped walnuts or brazil nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a large rectangular baking tin. Break up the chocolate and put it and the butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water to melt. Whisk the eggs in a bowl until frothy.

2. Add the sugars and whisk them into the eggs until fully combined, thick, dark and treacley. Make sure you are still keeping an eye on the chocolate mixture and stirring it every now and then.

3. When the chocolate mixture has melted completely, pour it into the egg mixture and stir until fully combined.

4. Add the ground almonds, chopped nuts and vanilla extract and fold them in gently. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on how gooey you want your brownies!