Moroccan French Brownie w/ Cardamom Cocoa Frosting (Repost)

The Middle East meets Western Europe in this Valentine's Day extravaganza.

Arabic coffee and cardamom from the Recipe Nomad's brownies add exotic flavors to the "Best Brownie Recipe" by French/American pastry chef David Lebovitz.

For Valentine's Day, treat your loved ones - or just yourself! - to this international blend of chocolate decadence. 

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4.5 Persimmons*

For the Brownies:

See David Lebovitz's recipe on Leite's Culinaria website here. Modify as follows:

1. Use 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4.

2. Add 1 tablespoon finely ground Arabic coffee (or any dark or medium roasted, finely ground coffee) with the flour. (Note: I used Organic Ethoipia Wotona Bultuma Expresso from Whole Foods.)

3. For the best brownies, use Valrhona Baking Bars here.

For the Frosting:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature

1/8 cup almond milk + 3 tablespoons, preferably Califa Farms.

1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Varhona 100% cocoa

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. For a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream the butter. Add almond milk, cocoa powder and cardamom and mix well. Add powdered sugar and mix until folded in. Add additional almond milk one tablespoon at a time to get desired consistency. Spoon onto cooled brownies and spread to cover top.

2. For a hand mixer, or wooden spoon, add ingredients as for stand mixer above and mix well.

Arabic coffee and cardamom in Brownies and Frosting recipe adapted from The Recipe Nomad website here.

"Best Brownie Recipe" adapted from Leite's Culinaria posting here of David Lebovitz' recipe.

#brownies, #Valrhona #cocoa #glutenfree #Arabic #France #davidlebovitz #almondmilk #cardamom #Valentinesday #treat #dessert 

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.