Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Ingredients:

(2) 225g cans of black eyed beans - drain and rinse
200g dark chocolate, vegan
1/2 cup rapeseed oil
1/2 cup soya milk
1/2 cup golden syrup or fine brown sugar
1/3 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup plain flour
1 tbsp flax seeds, milled
2 tsp instant coffee

Topping:
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 tsp rapeseed oil
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup chocolate chips, vegan 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375f/190c, and line a 9" square brownie pan with grease proof paper.

2. Over a double boiler melt your chocolate, make sure that the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl.

3. In large mixing bowl add the black eyed beans, golden syrup, salt, vanilla extract, oil, soya milk and flax seeds to a food processor or use a hand blender. Start on low and blend until very smooth. Then add your melted chocolate and mix with a spatula.

4. To your mixture fold in the cocoa powder, flour, cinnamon, and instant coffee.

5. Pour in the brownie mixture into the lined baking pan and smooth out with a spatula.

6. Heat the smooth peanut butter and oil together so that you have a very liquid peanut butter mixture. Drizzle the melted peanut butter over top the brownie batter.

7. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts over the brownie mix.

8. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 375f/190c for about 30/35 mins. Once removed from the oven allow the brownie to cool for an hour  before slicing. This recipe will make 12 brownies.

Once completely cooled store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to one week. You can warm the chilled brownies in microwave or oven before serving.

Chocolate Pots

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 Minuets

Chilling time: 1 hour minimum 

Ingredients:

2 large ripe avocados

25g unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tsp maple or agave syrup

1/4 tsp salt

100g of 70% dark chocolate 

Method:

Brake up the chocolate into chunks and put into a pyrex bowl resting on a pan of boiling water. Don’t let the water touch the bottom of the bowl as this will burn the chocolate. You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave but I find the stove top method more controlled. once melted set aside to cool a little.

If you have a blender place all of the other ingredients into it and blend till there are no chunks of avocado left. If you are using a hand blender this process may take a little longer but the smoother the mix the better the end result will be.

Now add the cooled melted chocolate to the mix and blend again. Now I tend to use teacups to set my chocolate mix in as it looks nice, but feel free to use any small container you have to hand. Ramekins work well and will look good on a serving plate.

Now place the chocolate pots into the fridge to cool down and set up. I recommend an hour but it does depend on how hot your kitchen is and the weather outside. If you can give them longer it will taste so much better. 

As this is using avocados the shelf life on this is quite short and it should be eaten within 12 hours of being made.

If you want to make it look stunning serve with some fresh strawberries and some grated chocolate on top.

I tend not to tell people that the main ingredients is avocados in this dish until after they have asked for more. I do love the shocked look on their faces. 

I've been trying to work out a recipe for Chocolate Brownies and this is one I have come up with...

I'm just making them now so I will fill you in on how they turn out on Monday...

Chocolate, Chocolate Brownies.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cup of Macadamia Nuts (soaked for about 4hrs)
1 Cup of Soft Dates
1/3 Cup of Agave
1/3 Cup of Water (use the water you used to soak the nuts in)
3/4 Cup of Raw Chocolate powder
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Preparation

1. Process Macadamia Nuts in food processor until they are a slightly bitty paste. (They will work smoother when you add the other Ingredients).
2. Mix in all other ingredients in and process them till they are well mixed and you get a smooth paste.
3. Add the chocolate powder and blend till the mix is nice and chocolaty.
4. Using an ice-cream scoop portion out the mix onto a non-stick dehydrator sheet.
5. Then wetting your hands so they are damp, push down on the brownies till they are the size and shape you want.
6. Dehydrate for about 12 hours, turning them when the top forms a crust.
7. Let cool down before topping with chocolate.

For the chocolate topping, melt some raw chocolate over a bowl of hot water. Spoon the chocolate over the brownie and let it run a little down the sides. Chill for about half an hour and then serve.

I hope you like these? I thought they would be nice with some raw ice cream, what do you think?

Bear. X

P.S I’ve just had an after thought, it could be really nice to add some chopped Walnuts to the mix like we use to do when I worked at Mrs Fields Cookies.

When the wind is blowing and it’s raining hard sometimes all you want is something that makes you feel all childlike and happy…

Well today I have found my own bit of childlike heaven and I thought I would tell you all about it…

Thanks to the people at Alpro Soya who have made a fresh chocolate milkshake to die for. But I for one can make it better, how about a peanut butter and banana chocolate shake…



Take one bottle of Alpro Soya Chocolate shake cold from the fridge add one tbsp of smooth peanut butter and a frozen banana (cut it in to small chunks and put it in a freezer bag and freeze over night) put it all in the blender and put it on full speed till smooth.

Sit back and enjoy…

Bear X