Gluten-Free Pumpkin Brownies

Ingredients

• 600 g Hokkaido pumpkin (1 Hokkaido pumpkin)
• 75 g coconut blossom sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp ground ginger
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 200 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa content)
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 90 g honey
• 200 g room-temperature butter
• 1 pinch salt
• 5 eggs
• 100 g cornmeal
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 50 g strong-deoiled cocoa powder
• 200 g cream cheese (40% fat in milk)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the pumpkin, halve it, remove seeds and cut flesh into strips. Place pumpkin on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan, gas: level 3) for 40 minutes.

2. 2.

   Remove pumpkin from oven. Puree flesh with coconut blossom sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; let cool for 10 minutes.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile, roughly chop chocolate and melt over a double boiler. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

4. 4.

   Whisk honey with butter, vanilla seeds, and 1 pinch salt until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in melted chocolate. Mix cornmeal, baking powder, and cocoa powder; gradually add to the honey‑chocolate mixture. Pour batter into a pan and smooth top.

5. 5.

   Fold pumpkin puree with cream cheese and remaining eggs. Add pumpkin‑cream mixture to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon into the chocolate batter until a beautiful marbled effect appears.

6. 6.

   Bake in oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan, gas: level 3) for 30–35 minutes. Remove, cool, and cut into 18 pieces.