Coconut Milk Brownies, with creamy coconuty spread

I am not a big fan of Chocolate, and people react to this fact very strangely. It’s like I tell someone “ I am a vegetarian” and they open the eyes wide and ask “Do you not eat fish as well?” And I repeat, “No, I am a vegetarian”. Similarly I have had my share of Chocolate amusements as well. Once I told  one of my “train buddies” that I am not that interested in Chocolates and she fondled her Bag confusedly to take out a big bar of Thornton’s and said “ Not even this?” I was like, meh!? She gave me a horrified look and since then she has tried to make me eat every known chocolate brand in the world. Thank you P for your constant love shower and chocolates which my husband is gulping down happily since then :D

I don’t understand why girls are expected to love Chocolates more than anything else in the world anyway. I am not too fond of them, though I do like having some Dark Chocolate bite time to time, but then that’s it. I don’t like chocolate Ice creams, Chocolate cookies, even Chocolate cakes. Again, depends on my mood and the taste obviously but I won’t go crazy over some triple Chocolate fantasy as some people do. Hence when Anusha from Tomato blues announced her new challenge of making a chocolate Brownie with something more than chocolate, I was both puzzled and curious. I started with making a list of all combinations in Chocolate that I like, although eventually I ended up making a list of  what I don’t like instead. But I figured out that I can stand dark chocolate Bounty for some reason. So there I knew I wanted to blend Coconut flavour in my brownies, so here we go... Chocolate Brownies with Coconut cream topping.

They were amazing in taste, and texture. Since I had used Coconut milk in the batter as well, the flavour was very prominent and even. The brownies base was fudgy and crusty on top. This recipe is a combination of two recipes I found online, here and here. And I put some of my own ideas like adding cardamom powder etc. These little devils went straight to a get together and everyone from kids to their parents enjoyed them. I can’t say these are “healthy” brownies, but surely they have fresh coconut and less amount of sugar so you can say they are better than the usual brownies. And there is no butter used, so yes they are definitely better.

As I was saying last time, that we went to this Media event in London for promoting Bloggers’ Buzz, and got back with loads of Samples in Goody bag. This Divine chocolate bar was one among the lot, which I liked tremendously. Now after bragging so much above about being a Chocolate disliker (!?) , I am saying I loved it. The main reason being it was Dark chocolate, which I still can gulp in and also the attractive packaging it was in. The moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to eat it. They had two flavours for us, Dark Chocolate with a hint of Chili (!!!) & Orange AND Milk chocolate with caramel. I don’t like caramel at all, hence I didn’t taste it but the friends I gave it to were very happy with the taste. I know the addition of chili sounds crazy, but personally I loved it and since I couldn’t have too much of it, I put it together for this Brownie.

Experts say that the quality of chocolate you use for the  Brownies makes a substantial difference in the taste and texture. Since I had never made brownies before, am not sure how else would they taste had I used any other brand. But this one was truly amazing, the right texture and perfect taste. And since the Chocolate contained chili and orange flavours (which were amazing btw) , the slight hint of it in the bake was making it even more delish.  I would personally recommend the Divine's Dark chocolate bar, but am sure the caramel one was not bad either.They have a lot of flavors, check them out here. 

What you need?

1/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup broken chocolate pieces - I took Divine Dark Chocolate 

1 cup coconut milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For coconut topping:

1 cup grated coconut - I took dessicated

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup heavy cream

5 tbsp butter 

How to Make?

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, butter a 9×13 baking dish and keep ready.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil. Add the chocolate pieces and stir until melted.

Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer and beat in eggs one by one. Throw in coconut milk, and vanilla extract and beat well. 

In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and flour. Gradually add to the wet mixture and mix until well combined. 

Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Coconut spread aside. 

For the topping, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly thickened.

Set aside until brownies are done with the first 20 minutes of baking. When brownies are done with first 20 minutes, remove from oven and pour coconut mixture over partially baked brownies and return to oven for 10-15 minutes until toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Enjoy at room temperature of warming them up slightly in microwave before serving with Ice cream. 

My Notes:

• Since I used the dark chocolate, I lessen the quantity of Cocoa powder. But if you are using Milk chocolate, increase 1 tbsp more to the same mixture.
• You may use plain milk, or even flavored milk to this batter and then keep or omit the coconut topping for a variation
• Next time I would try white chocolate, and see the results.. if you have a recipe,  share with me :)

Goes to Groovery Gourmets for this month

Reposting it to -
Bake fest started by Cook's Joy and hosted by Palachinka