Chocolate Brownies - Gluten Free, Vegan

I started making black bean brownies from the recipe in the Deliciously Ella Everyday book (she has amazing plant based recipes, I highly recommend!) I have made them several times, and tweaked the recipe to suit my tastes. They are delicious, they smell delicious and taste delicious! I was sure I'd taste the beans in them, but no, they just give them an amazing texture that I've been looking to achieve in my Gluten Free Vegan cake recipes.

My Chocolate Brownie Recipe

I use my food processor for easy mixing,

Ingredients...

1 cup ground almonds (I grind them in the food processor to begin with before the mixing bowl gets sticky)
2 Tbsp ground chia seeds (I grind these in the coffee grinder)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp raw cacao powder
1 cup soaked dates
1 medium ripe banana

I give all of this a mix in the food processor at this point before going on to add...

400 g black beans - canned (drained) or cooked from dried (I cook up a big batch and freeze individually in 400 g portions)
1 cup nut milk (I make my own cashew milk by placing one handful of cashews into the food processor with 800 ml of water and blending for 4 minutes)
6-8 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix in the food processor until nicely combined.  You can taste at this point too, yum!

Spoon the mixture into a 20 cm, lined, square brownie pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes.

Take it out and let it cool for at least an hour in the pan.  Then slice it up and enjoy!

I usually freeze any portions I won't be eating within a few days.  I find it nice to bake a variety of sweet treats that I can freeze and snack on at any time.

Have fun baking and eating these healthy. gluten free, vegan treats!

x Sarah