I recently made some "blackbean blondies" which went down a treat in our house! This was a real miracle considering the recipe was completely made up and in no way guaranteed to work!
I looked for a black bean brownie recipe and came across a few but they all said "sugar free" then added 1/2 cup maple syrup. I played around with this one and have managed to completely cut out the syrup and just had 2 tbsp brown sugar for the whole recipe and extra sweetener through banana.
Benefits of this recipe vs. traditional brownie - much higher in protein and fibre (way more filling), less saturated fat (better for the heart), and less calories (better for the waist line). It still counts as a "treat" food BUT it is much higher in nutrients and better for our bods than the alternative.
Here it is:
Ingredients:
- 1 tin black beans
- 2 heaped Tbsp cocoa
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (optional)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 small bananas
- Chocolate chips (Dark chocolate adds a richer flavour without you needing to add as many!)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Add all ingredients (EXCEPT CHOCOLATE CHIPS) to a large bowl and blend with a stick blender- or throw in a food processor.
2. Process until smooth
3. Add chocolate chips and mix through
4. Transfer mixture into a 20cmx 20cm baking paper lined tin and place in oven for ~20 mins. Don't over cook it! When it comes out of the oven it really looks under cooked- just leave it to cool and it turns into a soft, chewy texture.
NB: I didn't measure the chocolate chips because I tend to not measure anything when I bake ! So writing out a recipe is big for me. Add as many as you like I say!