Can I freeze chocolate brownies?

[Evenstar]

That's it really! Going away for the weekend and have a really busy week ahead so I just wondered if I could make them in advance and freeze them. They never usually last long enough here for me to have tried it

Yes you can

Baecuase of al the sugar they don't tend to freeze hard so you can almost eat them stright out of the freezer, or so I'm told .

Yes you can freeze. Its a good excuse idea to make a huge batch all in one go.

No no no they definitely don't freeze, I'll give you my address. Shame for them to go to waste!

We need to freeze stuff like that otherwise the vultures DSs come and scoff the lot in a day or two max.

ooh - this could be interesting. I need to deliver cakes to school next week but really have no time to make anything the night before...anyone got a good recipe for brownies that freeze well? and how long before should I take out of the freezer?

This coconut brownie recipe I use has no nuts in but has dessicated coconut instead so good for school in case of nut allergies.

50g of chocolate (melt over boiling water)
50g of dessicated coconut
50g of self raising flour
125g of butter or margarine
225g of sugar
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 large eggs

Mix all together in one big bowl. Pour into a shallow tin. Bake at Gas 5 or 350 F or 180 C for 50 mins. Cover with foil if it starts to burn on top.

I actually double the recipe and bake in a big tray and still works well. Freezes ell too.

Thanks BeenBeta!
Silly question - are coconuts not counted as nuts then? I've never had to think about this (baking for school virgin...)

It is a low risk. This is what the The Anaphylaxis Campaign website says. I always make clear what is in teh cakes I deliver to school on a label. I make mine suitable for vegetarian as well as gluten/lactose free too. People are allergic to many things that might be in a cake (eg wheat, banana, milk).

"Q: Should people with nut allergy avoid coconut?

A: The Campaign encounters very few nut-allergic people who react to coconut, but it is difficult to give a clear-cut answer. There is little doubt that a small proportion of people with nut allergy are allergic to coconut, and that severe reactions do occasionally occur. Research from Southampton suggests that around 5-10% of those reacting to nuts are also allergic to coconut. This is probably no more likely than for any person with a tendency to become allergic and is not due to cross reactivity. A few allergy clinics offer testing for coconut allergy on request."

There is a version of the recipe that has dried cherries in instead of coconut too but have never tried it.

Thank you. I'll check with other mums what is acceptable then, but may well try the recipe out anyway to eat myself

Coconuts are not nuts though, are they?

Found this on t'internet... "Many people say that coconut is a seed (in fact, it IS the largest seed in the world) and others describe it as a fruit (indeed, coconut IS the fruit of the coconut palm). Technically, its closest relations are fruits like cherries and peaches (known as drupes). Because coconut is rather less juicy than other drupes, it is known as a 'dry drupe' or 'fibrous drupe'.

In any case, it does not fall under the same category as peanuts or tree nuts (the types of nuts that experts recommend excluding from the diets of young children). Coconut is not a commonly allergenic food and is not on the list of restricted foods for those who have allergies to tree nuts."

BTW, I make brownies and just exclude nuts when I make them for school etc. I just add lots of dairy and white milk drops.

PrettyFeckinVacant - very interesting.

That is sort of what I thought about coconuts too but was not absolutley sure. I knew they were definitley not like peanuts etc which are the main alergy culprits hence 'safe' for school. However, I did not know they were related to cherries and peaches (and plums).

Adding white milk chocolate drops does sound good. I tried plain brownies with nothing added in once and it was just a bit like a fairly uninspiring dry chcolate cake.

They needs something moist/oily in for sure.

Thanks Beta, fwiw, my DD is allergic to peanuts and some tree nute but is fine with coconut.

Yes, brownies need something added. Personally I find them too rich but then I am not a choc lover.