Two Brownie recipes
I’ve included two brownie recipes:
a healthy sweet potato brownie with a sugar-free option
a traditional brownie recipe that’s dairy-free with gluten-free and sugar-free options
I love making brownies as a special treat for family, my grandies dive gleefully into the warm gooey brownie sometimes with a spoon, usually rejecting the yogurt and berries; sharing love in a warm chocolate sweet.
The first recipe - a healthy sweet potato brownie - is baked in a microwaveable container. The brownie is healthy as it’s baked without sugar if use sugar-free chocolate, flour so there’s a gluten-free option with a 4 minute cooking time.
I bake the second brownie recipe in an enamel tin as its a great heat conductor, and if you prefer not to use baking paper the enamel shrouds the underlying steel, preventing it from altering the flavour of the food.
For this brownie, I used a small amount of grapeseed oil as a substitute for fat; grapeseed oil has a high smoke point (about 420-445’C) for a vegetable oil, so it’s unlikely to oxidise and produce off flavours during high temperature cooking. The combination of its high smoke point and very neutral flavour makes grapeseed oil one of the most versatile options in the kitchen.
Brownies are for special occasions, a time when I sometimes waver the “no sugar” rule for unrefined sugar. Scientific research proves all sugar, regardless of its “exotic” name, is sugar and it’s a myth that one is healthier than the other. If you choose to use sugar, realise the ‘natural’ and wholesome-sounding language used for sugars are still added sugars, the packaging is just more exotic.
If you wish to make a sugar-free brownie, substitute the ¾ cup unrefined sugar for 1 cup of date paste.
Date paste - makes 1 cup - 16 medjool dates soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and puree to a paste in the blender.
Health benefits:
· According to a study by Harvard researchers, their analysis of 21 studies with 2,575 participants shows that cocoa consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels, among other benefits.
· Eric L. Ding, PhD, of Harvard Medical School says the apparent health benefits come from polyphenolic flavonoids in cocoa that have the potential to prevent heart disease.
HEALTHY BROWNIES
PB, V, DF, GF, SF option
½ cup sweet potato mash
1 cup nuts - like peanuts, almonds or pecans
4 tbsp raw cacao powder
3 tbsp flour - like oat, spelt, almond or GF white
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup date paste or maple syrup
pinch of sea salt
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks
Process the nuts until crumbly. Combine all the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, in the food processor until smooth. Mix in half the chocolate chips, spoon the batter into a microwaveable container, sprinkle the remaining choc chips on top and cook for at 900w for 4 minutes. Eat immediately with fresh berries and dollops of yogurt.
BROWNIES
PB, V, DF, GF option
100g 70% dark chocolate
¾ cup wheat spelt flour or GF flour
½ cup cacao powder
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup date paste (see recipe above) OR ¾ cup unrefined sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 cup plant milk
¼ cup grapeseed oil
180g 70% dark chocolate, roughly cut into chunks
1 cup walnuts pieces
Preheat the oven to 180’C. Wet a sheet of baking paper and press into an 26 x 20cm enamel tin. Melt 100g chocolate in a bain-marie, a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the base doesn’t touch the water. Set aside to cool a little. Sift the flour, cacao powder and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar/date paste and sea salt and stir in the plant milk, oil and melted chocolate. Stir in the remaining dark chocolate chunks and walnuts. Pour the batter in and spread evenly over the enamel tin with the back of a spoon. Bake for 20 minutes until it’s cooked on the outside with a slightly gooey middle. Leave to cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack, and serve warm at the table with dollops of yogurt and fresh berries.
