Hi everyone. I'm writing this on a sunny Easter Sunday morning after enjoying a nice coffee and a delicious chocolate brownie outside in the garden. It's so nice to be able to venture outside a bit more in the warmer weather and with restrictions on travel and meeting people being slowly lifted, I have been giving out these brownies all weekend to my friends and family. When I find something I like I tend to force it on everyone around me (the previous being 'My Octopus Teacher' on Netflix) so now it's your turn to be treated to these amazing brownies...although you'll have to make these yourself!
'The recipe was from the website 'Minimalist Baker' (Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies (V/GF) | Minimalist Baker Recipes) which has never let me down when looking for a good recipe. I'm embarking on a new era of baking where veggies are included. As many people probably are, I was a bit sceptical about veggies in cakes but after trying a lovely courgette chocolate cake at a potluck party one year I have been keen to try something myself. I have a book that contains lots of healthier cake recipes that use parsnips, carrots, courgettes, beetroot and even turnips in the cakes so I will probably report back on that sometime soon!
For this lovely gooey sweet potato brownie recipe you'll need the following:
1 cup sweet potato purée (simply halve and roast a large sweet potato for half an hour at 190C then wrap up and cook for a further 5 mins. Peel off the skin and blend.)
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ Tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder or cacao powder
1/4 tsp sea salt (I used salted peanut butter so I omitted this)
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup oat flour (I didn't have any and we don't sell this in the shop although I just put some rolled oats in my blender and processed to a much finer mix.
1/2 cup chopped raw pecans or walnuts
The recipe suggests 1/4 cup chocolate chips but I omitted these in the end. The mixture seemed chocolatey enough!
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C and line an 8x8 inch baking tin with parchment paper. (Of course I never have the right size tin for a recipe needed so mine was bigger and the brownies not as deep)
Mix the sweet potato purée, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla extract, and avocado oil in a mixing bowl.
Add the cacao powder, sea salt, and baking powder and stir.
Then add oat flour and stir until a thick batter forms.
Pour the batter into the parchment lined baking tin and spread evenly before adding toppings.
Bake in the middle of the oven 28-32 minutes, mine took 30 mins, until a cake tester comes out mostly clean (no gooey batter but not necessarily clean)
Let it cool fully for an hour before removing from the tin and slicing.
They can be kept in a container for three days or longer if in the fridge. They can also be frozen too.
This was a nice easy recipe to make. There's lots of room for swapping ingredients out and adapting so I think I'll try chopped hazelnuts on top next time. They taste amazing and all of the people I've shared them with so far agree. They look a little baffled when I start listing all of the free from aspects...gluten free, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free...but once I've shut up and let them enjoy it in peace they are pleasantly surprised.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe review. Do let me know if you try it when you're next in the shop!