Deceptively Delicious Brownies
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a long time. It’s the spinach and carrot brownies from “Deceptively Delicious” by Jessica Seinfeld. I know there are many newlywed wives who have picky eaters for husbands and a cookbook like this one can help keep their hubbies healthy without them even know it. There are some people have moral objections to sneaking foods into their loved one’s meals. I consider myself lucky that hubby will eat basically anything. So I would never have to think about sneaking veggies into his meals, but I was still very intrigued by the idea that you can put veggies into a dessert and they supposedly go unnoticed.
I made these last night and let them cool overnight. I realized as I was falling asleep that I used unsweetened baking chocolate instead of semisweet or bittersweet. When I tried one, the chocolate taste was a bit harsh. I think that was due to the unsweetened chocolate. I did like the texture and how well they baked up. I had hubby try one and he had a very similar critique. I told him about the chocolate mishap ahead of time. Although he didn’t say anything about it tasting weird (other than the chocolate tasting a little off). When I told him there were veggies in the brownie, he said he couldn’t even tell.
Deceptively Delicious – I got the recipe from Not Quite Nigella
Nonstick cooking spray
3 oz/90g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup carrot puree*
1/2 cup spinach puree*
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour or plain flour – I bumped up the baking powder and salt to account for not using self-rising flour as suggested on Not Quite Nigella
1/2 tsp. baking powder – I used a heaping 1/2 tsp
1/2 tsp. salt – I used a heaping 1/2 tsp
Preheat the oven to 350° degrees.
Coat an 8″ x 8″ baking pan with cooking spray or line with baking paper.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame (or in microwave) In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine and vanilla and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.
Created by Jessica Seinfeld
From the book Deceptively Delicious
Makes 12 brownies
I used about 6 oz of spinach which yielded 3/4 cup of spinach puree. For the carrots, I used 3 large handfuls of baby carrots and it yielded about 1 1/4 cup of carrot puree. I’m not sure what I’ll do with my leftover puree, but I’m sure I’ll find something to do with it…
How to puree spinach
PREP No prep at all for baby spinach. For mature spinach, fold leaves in half lengthwise with the stem outside, then strip the stem off the leaf.
COOK Steam for 30 to 40 seconds, or cook in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of water for about 90 seconds, or just until wilted.
PUREE In a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
How to puree carrots
PREP Peel, trim the ends and cut into 3-inch chunks. 
COOK Steam for 10 to 12 minutes.
PUREE In a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes, with a few teaspoons of water if needed for a smooth texture. 
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love it! Where did you get the jars? Now I totally wanna do this for xmas gifts!
/Clara
I looked everywhere and just couldn’t find them. I ended up ordering them from Amazon. They weren’t very cheap so that was a bummer…
Ah bummer. What size are the jars? I wonder if Ikea would have them? Whats the amazon link?
/Clara
I ordered them from here. You want the wide mouth jars so the cupcakes fit and the 1/2 pint size is perfect.
The yellow cupcakes didn’t rise much so I added more frosting to fill the jar and the chocolate ones rose quite a bit so they had less frosting. My sister said that the chocolate one had the perfect amount of frosting or could use a smidge more, so you want a cupcake that has at least a small dome.
haha, i’ve never seen that before 🙂 love it!
OH FUN! I’ve seriously always thought about doing this and never did. I’m starring this post to remind myself at Christmas. Too cute!!
I have been dying to try this ever since I saw it last year on someone else’s blog. They actually baked the cake in the jar and then iced it like a cupcake. I am going to have to order some of those iddy jars! Too cute!
Hmmm…might have to do this for Christmas instead of those “ingredients in a jar” thing we were thinking of.
I really want to try this, but I keep reading online that you shouldn’t put frosting in the jar because it will get moldy by the time it reaches its destination. I’m sure you would have heard if it was moldy when it got to your friend right? I would just be so embarrassed if that happened. Any help?
Renee – I’ve done this twice and both times haven’t heard of any mold. I froze the cupcakes/frosting in the jars prior to shipping them. I also shipped in the winter. My one sister even didn’t go get her package from the office until a week after it arrived and it was still good. I would guess she ate her cupcakes about 10 days after I sent them. I’m not sure if shipping in warm weather will have an impact on potential mold…
Alright I’ll definitely give it a try then. It will make for a very good Easter present for my faraway friends =)
Oh that’s a good idea!! I might have to order some more jars and do the same myself…
What a clever idea! I would love to get a cupcake in the mail! 🙂 Maybe I’ll send out Valentine’s Day Cupcakesnext year!
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Love these!! We have featured you on our blog. http://cutecupcakesallthetime.blogspot.com
Did you freeze them before shipping? The jars looked frosted…
beantownbaker — February 24th, 2013 @ 10:21 am
I did freeze them. They defrosted as they were shipped. I’ve done it with and without the freezing depending on the weather and whatnot.
What shipping method did you use? Overnight or Express???