Vegan Brownies

SERVES: 12

Ingredients:

100g dates

1 medium sweet potato

30g coconut flour

50g cocoa

25g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids and dairy free)

9tbsp aquafaba

100ml water or almond milk

1tsp vanilla extract

Recipe Summary

If you are looking to ‘have your cake and eat it’ then this is the recipe for you — a decadent tasting fudge brownie that’s gluten-free, dairy-free and packed with healthy ingredients for under 100 kcal a serving. I’ve lightened up the traditional brownie recipe by replacing all the refined sugar and butter with dates and sweet potato.The combination might sound odd but they combine to give a lovely toffee flavour to the brownies and help give the brownies that rich, gooey texture we all love.

I’ve also used coconut flour instead of the usual wheat flour. Coconut flour is made from the fibrous husk of the coconut. It’s extremely high in fibre, gluten-free and has a mild, slightly nutty taste. You can use it as a gluten-free way to thicken soups or curries but you can also bake with it, like in these brownies. Coconut flour is fairly easy to find now; larger supermarkets sell it in the free from aisle or your local health food shop should stock it. There are also lots of online suppliers. A packet lasts a long time as you need only small amounts in baking.

Peeling and cubing a sweet potato can be tricky with arthritis. If you have a microwave you can try, scoring the potato all the way  around the middle and the pricking it a few times. Cook it on HIGH for 4 minutes and then allow to cool for 10 minutes. Once cool to touch you should be able to peel the skin off with your fingers from where you scored and the cooked potato flesh is ready to use.

Method:

Peel and cube the sweet potato. Put in a small saucepan with the dates and add the water or almond milk. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the potato is soft. Remove from the heat and puree using a stick blender or mash by hand until you have a thick paste. Break the dark chocolate into pieces and add to the mixture whilst it is still warm (the heat will melt the chocolate). Stir and set to one side to cool.

Put the flour, cocoa, baking powder and pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and the eggs. Mix together until combined (I used my stand mixer to do this but you could also do it by hand or use a food processor). Add the date, sweet potato and chocolate puree and beat everything together thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and well combined.

Pour out into a greased 8×8 inch tin and bake for 15-20 minutes or until risen and just set (but still gooey). Cut into 12 and cool on a rack for as long as you can wait before gobbling!