Hot Cross Brownies

Half hot cross bun, half brownie…what more could you ask for! I love all things festive and wanted to share an Easter creation for this time of year. With some warming spices, a hint of orange and a serving of cacao, these beauties are what resulted. Your Easter long weekend will officially be delicious!
 
P.S. I know times are weird at the moment and you may not be able to access all of the ingredients below due to self isolation, so I’ve added a list of substitutions at the end of the recipe.

Makes 9 brownies

Brownies
1 cup almond meal
2/3 cup cacao
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
pinch allspice and/or clove
1 tablespoon orange juice
rind of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup rice malt syrup, maple syrup or honey
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Crosses
1/3 cup almond meal
2 ½ tablespoons water

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius conventional
2. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together
4. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and stir to combine
5. Transfer the mix to a lined or greased 19cm x 19cm baking tin and bake for 18 minutes
6. Meanwhile, mix the almond meal and water in a small bowl for the crosses
7. After 18 minutes, take the tin out of the oven and put it aside. Use a teaspoon to carefully draw the crosses on the brownies (like in the photo below).
8. Pop the tin back in the oven and bake for another 5-8 minutes
9. Remove and allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling
10. Once cool, slice the brownies into 9 pieces. Enjoy!

Substitutions
I know that times are weird at the moment and you may not be able to access all of the ingredients, so here’s a list of possible substitutions. Depending on what you substitute, the end result may be a little different…but hey, that’s half the fun of baking and I think they’ll still be great! 

If you don’t have almond meal – try using another flour instead. If you have no flour, you could blend almonds into your own almond meal or oats into oat flour. The texture will be different depending on what flour you use and you may need to use a little less or more liquid.

If you don’t have cacao – cocoa is perfectly fine to use instead.

If you don’t have baking powder – you could omit it or make your own using (1 teaspoon cream of tartar plus ½ teaspoon bicarb soda equates to 2 teaspoons baking powder).

If you don’t have any of the spices – leave them out or get creative and use other things instead. For example, mixed spice or cardamom would also be delicious. And ground ginger could easily be swapped for fresh.

If you don’t have orange – swap for 1 tablespoon water or milk.

If you don’t have rice malt syrup / maple syrup / honey – swap for 1/2 mashed banana.

If you don’t have olive oil – swap for coconut oil or milk.

If you have any questions about using substitutions, feel free to email me on contact@ninakingsfordsmith.com.au and I’ll help out :)

How to draw on the crosses