It’s a real shame that there is still no television and/or internet that lets you smell stuff. Sometimes I would love to be able to share what it smells like in my kitchen when I bake a recipe or cook something. You could immediately smell how delicious something has turned out ;) It’s no different with these Brownie Bites with Cardamom & Tangerine… they smell soooo good! You want to bite into them immediately!
Cardamom is often found in Christmas baking here in Germany – many spice mixes for gingerbread or speculoos have cardamom added. The spice is also used for mulled wine, for example. Have you ever noticed that it smells slightly like eucalyptus? Koala bears would certainly love cardamom too, if they ever came down from their eucalyptus trees ;P
In other countries, cardamom is used all year round and much more often than here. In India, for example, cardamom is an important ingredient in many curry mixtures and is therefore an integral part of regional cuisine there. In Middle Eastern countries, it is often used to spice coffee and is even said to have an aphrodisiac effect. Interesting, isn’t it ;P
I’m happy when it tastes good, that’s all I need ;P I recently baked a Carrot Cake in a Glass Jar with cardamom – a very good combination I have to say! If you do some research about flavor pairing, you’ll see that cardamom works really well with other ingredients and the resulting combinations taste really great! I recently had the pleasure of attending a workshop on this topic and came across the combination of cardamom and tangerine…
Cardamom goes really well with various other ingredients and flavors – citrus fruits, nuts, chocolate or caramel are just a few candidates here. The flavors of the different ingredients complement each other perfectly and the result simply tastes better than each product on its own. So the logical conclusion here is to combine cardamom with chocolate, tangerine zest and caramelized walnuts. A killer combination, I’m just saying ;P
If you’re interested in the topic of flavor pairing and food pairing, I can definitely recommend this book: Flavour Pairing: Das Spiel der Aromen*. And now to the recipe – I hope you have lots of fun with your Christmas baking – or if you bake throughout the year, just have fun baking! ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(25-28 brownie bites)
For the crunch & decoration:
1/2 cup (120ml) water
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
3.5 oz. (100g) walnuts
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 pinch of cardamom
For the batter:
3.5 oz. (100g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (120g) butter
1 1/3 cup (170g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cocoa
2 tsp. cardamom
zest of 1/2 organic tangerine
3 medium eggs
1 cup (200g) sugar
walnut crunch
For the decoration:
caramelized walnuts
3.5 oz. (100g) chocolate glaze
(25-28 Mini Brownie Bites)
Für den Crunch & Deko:
120ml Wasser
100g Zucker
100g Walnüsse
1 Prise Zimt
1 Prise Kardamom
Für den Teig:
100g Zartbitterschokolade, gehackt
120g Butter
170g Mehl (Type 405)
2 TL Kakaopulver
2 TL gemahlenen Kardamom
Abrieb einer 1/2 Bio-Mandarine
3 Eier (M)
200g Zucker
Walnuss Crunch
Für die Deko:
karamellisierte Walnüsse
100g Vollmilchkuvertüre
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Line a mini cupcake tin* with paper liners (Ø 1.4 inch/3,5cm) and set aside.
2. Start with the caramelized walnuts for the crunch and decoration. Add water and sugar to a saucepan and heat up until it starts boiling. The sugar should dissolve completely. As soon as the mixture starts to thicken, add the walnuts and let caramelize while stirring constantly. The sugar will foam up first and then probably cristalize again – that is ok, just keep stirring until the color of the sugar starts changing its color – you have to be careful now not to burn the caramel. As soon as you have a nice caramel and all the walnuts are covered with it, remove from the heat and sprinkle cinnamon and cardamom on top and stir one last time. Transfer to a baking sheet with baking parchment and let cool down – make sure the walnuts are not sticking to each other. When cooled, chop half of the nuts for the crunch – the rest is for decoration. Set aside.
3. Chop the chocolate and add together with the butter to a heatproof bowl. Place on a pot with simmering water and let melt – mix until well combined. Let cool down again.
4. Preheat the oven to 325˚F (160°C). Mix flour with cocoa, cardamom and the zest of the tangerine and set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add the cooled melted chocolate (should have almost room temperature) and mix in. Add the flour mixture gradually and mix in until just combined. Add the walnut crunch and fold in. Fill into the prepared paper liners (they should be about 2/3 full) and bake in the lower third of the oven for 12-14 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
5. Melt the chocolate glaze in a heatproof bowl on a pot with simmering water, let cool down a bit and decorate each brownie bite with some of the chocolate glaze and a piece of the caramelized walnuts.
1. Mini Cupcake Bleche* mit Papierförmchen (Ø 3,5cm/1.4 inch) bestücken und zur Seite stellen.
2. Mit den karamellisierten Walnüssen für den Crunch und die Deko anfangen. Das Wasser zusammen mit dem Zucker in einen Topf geben und erhitzen. Die Mischung aufkochen, bis sich der Zucker gelöst hat und alles langsam andickt. Die Walnüsse zugeben und alles unter ständigem rühren karamellisieren lassen. Der Zucker wird erst aufschäumen und dann wieder etwas kristallisieren – sobald der Zucker anfängt Farbe zu bekommen, sollte man vorsichtig sein, damit nichts verbrennt – die Walnüssen sollten komplett mit Karamell überzogen sein. Zimt und Kardamom darüber stäuben und kurz verrühren. Auf einem Backblech mit Backpapier abkühlen lassen – darauf achten, dass die Walnüsse nicht zusammenkleben. Etwa 1/2 der Nüsse kleinhacken und alles zur Seite stellen.
3. Zartbitterschokolade hacken und mit der Butter in einer hitzebeständigen Schüssel über einem Topf mit köchelndem Wasser schmelzen und dann wieder abkühlen lassen.
4. Den Ofen auf 160°C (325°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Mehl mit Kakao, Kardamom und Mandarinen Abrieb vermischen und zur Seite stellen. In einer großen Schüssel die Eier mit dem Zucker aufschlagen, bis alles hell und luftig ist. Die geschmolzene Schokolade (max. noch lauwarm) zugeben und unterrühren. Mehl nach und nach zugeben und nur kurz verrühren. Gehackten Walnüsse zugeben und unterheben. Den Teig auf die vorbeireteten Förmchen verteilen (jedes etwa 2/3 voll) und im unteren Drittel des Ovens für 12-14 Minuten backen. Aus dem Ofen nehmen und auf einem Kuchengitter komplett abkühlen lassen.
5. Die Kuvertüre in einer hitzebeständigen Schüssel über einem Topf mit köchelndem Wasser schmelzen, jeweils einen Klecks auf die Törtchen geben und mit karamellisierten Walnüssen dekorieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
PrintBrownie Bites with Cardamom & Tangerine
- Prep Time: 00:45
- Cook Time: 00:14
- Total Time: 01:00
- Yield: 28 1x
- Category: Brownies
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the crunch & decoration:
1/2 cup (120ml) water
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
3.5 oz. (100g) walnuts
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 pinch of cardamom
For the batter:
3.5 oz. (100g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (120g) butter
1/3 cup (170g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cocoa
2 tsp. cardamom
zest of 1/2 organic tangerine
3 medium eggs
1 cup (200g) sugar
walnut crunch
For the decoration:
caramelized walnuts
3.5 oz. (100g) chocolate glaze
Instructions
1. Line a mini cupcake tin* with paper liners (Ø 1.4 inch/3,5cm) and set aside.
2. Start with the caramelized walnuts for the crunch and decoration. Add water and sugar to a saucepan and heat up until it starts boiling. The sugar should dissolve completely. As soon as the mixture starts to thicken, add the walnuts and let caramelize while stirring constantly. The sugar will foam up first and then probably cristalize again – that is ok, just keep stirring until the color of the sugar starts changing its color – you have to be careful now not to burn the caramel. As soon as you have a nice caramel and all the walnuts are covered with it, remove from the heat and sprinkle cinnamon and cardamom on top and stir one last time. Transfer to a baking sheet with baking parchment and let cool down – make sure the walnuts are not sticking to each other. When cooled, chop half of the nuts for the crunch – the rest is for decoration. Set aside.
3. Chop the chocolate and add together with the butter to a heatproof bowl. Place on a pot with simmering water and let melt – mix until well combined. Let cool down again.
4. Preheat the oven to 325˚F (160°C). Mix flour with cocoa, cardamom and the zest of the tangerine and set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add the cooled melted chocolate (should have almost room temperature) and mix in. Add the flour mixture gradually and mix in until just combined. Add the walnut crunch and fold in. Fill into the prepared paper liners (they should be about 2/3 full) and bake in the lower third of the oven for 12-14 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
5. Melt the chocolate glaze in a heatproof bowl on a pot with simmering water, let cool down a bit and decorate each brownie bite with some of the chocolate glaze and a piece of the caramelized walnuts.
Notes
Enjoy flavor pairing!
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I tried the brownie bites and the flavor is amazing! But yours look so perfect and my fell in the middle after I took them out of the oven, so I dusted them with powdered sugar and plopped a walnut in the cavity. Boohoo! Made your ginger crescents the other day and they were fabulous. I have a friend that is going through chemo and radiation, so the ginger and cardamom recipes are a desire of my heart to help him get through this by improving his nutritional quality of life. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Gigi,
glad you liked the brownie bites and crescents – it is very nice of you to bake all that for your friend – it’s so good to have friends around when you need them the most!
I hope he gets well soon and the treatment helps!
All the best!
Marc