Black Bean Brownies
INGREDIENTS
2 x 400g can organic black beans, drained and rinsed well*
1/2 cup 100% peanut butter (or almond butter)
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup (or honey)
1/2 cup almond meal**
1/2 cup raw cacao
170g 70% good quality dark organic chocolate, roughly chopped (120g for melting, 50g for topping)***
3 eggs
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. bicarbonate soda
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced and line an 20cm by 20cm square cake pan with baking paper. Alternatively, use any other rectangle or square oven dish that is roughly the same size
Melt 120g of dark chocolate in the microwave, stiring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly
Place the rinsed black beans, almond meal, peanut butter, cacao powder, maple syrup and olive oil in a large high powered blender and process until smooth and combined. Then add the melted chocolate, eggs, baking soda and bicarbonate soda and blend for a few seconds until smooth
Transfer brownie batter to the prepared oven dish, evenly top with remaining chopped chocolate and bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. When inserting a metal skewer (or knife) it should come out with a thin coating of batter, but not too much
Let the brownies cool in the oven dish for 20 minutes and outside for 10 minutes. If using almonds, scatter them on now and cut into 12 small slices for a healthy portion size!
Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
Notes:
These brownies are delcious with some fresh strawberries and/or strawberry/raspberry chia jam!
*This recipe also works when substituting black beans with the same quantity of red kidney beans or chickpeas
**I make my own almond meal by processing b lanched almonds but you can also purchase ground almond meal from any supermarket
***I used 70% dark chocolate because I found that the brownies were too bitter when I used 85% dark chocolate. However if you would prefer using 85% dark chocolate, make sure to use half the amount of raw cacao
