Sometimes I really miss baking. Don’t get me wrong – working as a chocolatier is soul-satisfying, with fine chocolate’s unmistakable taste and aroma and the other fine ingredients I use, I’m in heaven. On those days when I’m immersed in administrative business tasks and I’m away from the chocolate, I yearn to be back making it. I love this beautiful food and how happy it makes everyone, including me.
But there is something very special about pastry too, with its varied components coming together in exciting ways when a dessert is assembled and its flavors and textures combined. When I did pastry full time, I loved coming up with new creations for my clients – whether it was the restaurant needing something special for Mother’s Day or a client with a dietary restriction needing a creative solution. I miss working regularly with those clients (though many have remained devoted fans of my chocolates too). And while I still bake for my family, of course it isn’t the same.
So I was gratified to have fit this new chocolate dessert creation into our busy production schedule. My original intention after launching Dear Coco Chocolate was to continue developing new pastry recipes each month, but as our volume increased I found I just didn’t have the time to be creating, testing and refining new ideas that frequently. In preparation for a chocolate class with a dessert demo that I taught last week, I put my pastry hat back on with the goal of creating something easy and approachable but absolutely delicious. The end result is so simple and so yummy (even if technically it isn’t baking since you don’t have to turn on your oven) – this recipe is a raw brownie which uses easy-to-find ingredients from your local supermarket. The brownies are gluten free (perfect for Pesach!), dairy free and can be made vegan by substituting agave syrup for the honey. There are variations which I included at the end of the recipe, but feel free to do some experimenting with your own favorite flavors and add-ins as the recipe is very forgiving.
Get ready for the fastest and most delicious all-natural brownies you’ve ever made!
Here is the full recipe of No Bake Cappucino Brownies with variations.
Janie,
Feel free to search the JOK recipe database for more of my recipes (not all of them use chocolate, though!). Let me know if you have any questions — enjoy!
Would love to get your recipes.