You won't be able to tell these don't contain gluten or dairy! It's easy to find dairy-free chocolate – simply look for dark chocolate with a very high percentage of cocoa solids and often these don't use any dairy products. But do check the ingredients on the packet carefully, as some do. And make sure you get pure vanilla extract, rather than vanilla flavoring.
preparation time 10 minutes cooking 12 to 15 minutes makes 20
contains: egg
5 ounces dairy-free margarine, plus extra for greasing
7 ounces dairy-free dark chocolate, with at least 70 percent cocoa solids
1 cup fruit sugar
2 extra-large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon rice flour
4 tablespoons gram flour
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
heaped ¾ cup chopped hazelnuts
1 Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8- x 12-inch baking pan with dairy-free margarine and line the bottom with nonstick baking parchment paper.
2 Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a large heatproof bowl. Rest the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water; stir from time to time until the chocolate has melted. Add the margarine to the bowl and continue stirring occasionally until it is completely melted and blended with the chocolate.
3 Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the sugar, followed by the beaten eggs and vanilla extract. Stir to mix well, then sift the flours and baking powder into the bowl and carefully fold in with a metal spoon, making sure the batter is thoroughly combined, but not stirred too heavily, or the air will be lost; fold in the nuts.
4 Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly into the corners with the back of the spoon. Bake in the hot oven 12 to 15 minutes until risen and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle has just a little brownie sticking to it. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Cut into 20 squares.
