Sugarfree Cherry Brownies ~ Happy Birthday Radhika

Happy Birthday Radhika :)
Yeah you guessed it... She L-O-V-E-S Coffee... met her while doing my MBA.... She's such a lively person with an amazing sense of humour.

We've had a great time together over the years.....

The 5 of us have been quite a gang.... from left to right in the picture below... Surbhi, Rads, me, Shuchi n Kanika...

We celebrated her birthday at Hard Rock Cafe, while doing something she generally advised against... she says "Don't mix your drinks" yet we all mixed our drinks :)

Radhika's brief to me for the cake/dessert was LOW Sugar, NO Cream, Chocolatey for sure, Fruity [likes Cherries, Apricots n Peaches but not Mangoes]. So I set out to think of what can fit the bill...... 'Sugarfree Cherry Brownies' glazed with Chocolate and Peaches. We cut the brownie cake outside as Hard Rock didn't allow outside food....

These brownies had a comforting feel to them... a welcome break from fruity desserts... finally she could also eat chocolate without feeling very guilty...

Sugarfree Cherry Brownies

Ingredients:
100 gms Chocolate
1 cup Flour (minus 1 heaped tsp)
1 heaped tsp Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup Baking Splenda
3/4 cup softened Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
4 Eggs
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 table spoons Raspberry Conserve [no added sugar]
1 cup chopped n de-seeded Fresh Cherries + extra for decoration[optional]

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Prepare the baking tray by linking with parchment paper {leave some hanging on the sides}
2. In a double boiler{over hot water} melt the chocolate and butter. Mix well till both are melted and incorporated.
3. Cool to slightly higher than room tempertature.
4. Stir in baking splenda and vanilla.
5. Stir in chopped cherries in the above mixture and let them sit for a bit. In the mean time beat the eggs.


6. Add lightly beaten eggs slowly to the above mixture, while mixing.
7. Stir in the sifted flour and salt. mix very lightly till incorporated.
8. Pour mixture evenly in the tray.
9. Garnish with cherries on top.
10. Bake in the pre-heated oven, reducing temperature to 180 degrees.
11. Bake for about 30-40 minutes till skewer come clean {this will not for a flaky crust like normal brownies as there is no sugar for browning.}


Read a helpful tip at purplefoodie.com about chopped cherries... "When you’re pitting cherries, it’s important that you dunk them into a bowl with sugar, to coat the exposed layer of the cherry. Pitted cherries brown pretty fast, and thought you can’t tell in cakes and pies, you can most certainly notice the brown tinge in a frozen yoghurt."
In my sugarfree brownies, had no such worries but you could find this tip handing while working with most fruits :)


For those of you who can eat sugar, Chocolate Espresso Brownies are some sinfully yummy brownies I made for Shuchi earlier on her birthday. Some of the pictures in this post are taken by Madhurima Sil, a colleague. You can view her collection of pictures at www.madhurimasil.com

Verdict:
Radhika says: Thanks for the yummy brownies. They made my birthday so much sweeter! may you always keep coming up with such yummilicious creations that make us feel like we tasted a peiece of heaven :) muuuaahhhhh

Sid Khullar: Delicious! Going to save one for morning coffee. Can't wait to try the ones with real sugar. Thank you.