dessert – Page 2 – Blueberrysmiles

Hi everyone! Today I’d like to share a recipe with you from the lovely Emma. I had a tough time choosing as all her recipes look and sound amazing and are mostly centered around breakfast or dessert (or both! check out her latest recipe for Banoffee Pie Oats!) , which is my absolute favorite kind of food.

These fudgy sweet potato brownies look incredible and I can’t wait to make them once I have an oven again!
Do check out her site for more fabulous recipes, as well as all things running-related. Hope you enjoy! xoxo

Ingredients – makes 16 squares (or 12 larger ones)

-1 small sweet potato (about 300-350g)

-150g pitted medjool dates, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes if necessary

-50g wholemeal spelt flour

-6 tbsp raw cacao powder (roughly 40g)

-4 tbsp virgin coconut oil (60g)

-3 heaped tbsp smooth peanut butter (100g)

-3 tbsp (unheaped) hulled tahini (75g)

-50g coconut sugar plus 2 generous tbsp pure maple syrup

-2 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water to make your “flax eggs”

-1 tsp vanilla extract & a pinch of sea salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/ fan 180C. Stab your sweet potato a few times with a knife, then bake in the oven for about 55minutes – 1 hour, until tender all the way through. Set aside to cool, then peel away and discard the skin.
Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, peanut butter and tahini in a sauce pan over a low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and completely melted. Set aside to cool before stirring through the cacao powder until combined.
Drain the dates (if soaked), then whizz them up in a food processor until mostly smooth, then add the sweet potato flesh and blend until smooth.
Combine the sweet potato mixture with the chocolate in a bowl, adding the remaining ingredients and stirring until combined. Now is your chance to incorporate any optional add-ins!
Grease and line a baking pan with greaseproof paper, then pour in your batter and press down with a spatula. Bake in the oven (at the same temperature as above) for 25-30 minutes, checking after 20 minutes and every 5 minutes after to ensure it doesn’t burn. The edges should be firm and the centre still a bit wobbly – this is perfect, just make sure you leave it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn it out and leave until entirely cool before cutting into 12 or 16 slices! I love warming them through gently in the oven and serving with Booja booja ice cream!

Sweet, sticky, chewy, gooey... these little caramel-y squares are my new favorite indulgent treat! Great to have in the fridge to offer friends* or, of course, to sink your teeth into whenever you feel like a little pick-me-up 😉 You get the caramel-like flavor of the dates and maple syrup, which, with the hint of vanilla and cacao, is utterly irresistible. The walnut butter adds to the luxurious texture, enhancing without competing against the flavors.

Consisting of nourishing, wholesome ingredients, these sumptuous squares do more than just taste great – they provide a steady source of energy, which won’t cause blood sugar levels to skyrocket and crash, like more processed, refined options. A treat for your the tastebuds and a pretty nutritious, fueling snack… win-win situation, right?

*Side note: I tested this on a friend who is highly allergic to peanuts. Even though I used no peanuts in this recipe I was suddenly gripped by the fear that traces of the lethal legume had somehow gotten into into the mix, as, let’s face it, my place is a peanut allergy sufferer’s worst nightmare. Luckily I was just being overly paranoid and she was perfectly fine, giving them the thumbs up without landing in the emergency room 😉

Makes: 12 small squares

Ingredients

10 Medjool Dates (ca. 200 g); pitted
1 tbsp walnut butter**
2 tbsp + 1 tsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
pinch of salt
some ground vanilla bean (or a drop or two of vanilla extract)

** If you don’t have this on hand, the recipe should definitely work with other nut butters, but the flavor will, of course, vary. Walnut butter is very subtle, so it blends in well with the other ingredients. I like to use the raw organic 100% walnut one by Sun and Seed.

Frosting:

2 tbsp walnut butter
1 tbsp + 1 tsp raw cacao powder
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp unsweetened almond milk
optional: crushed walnuts to sprinkle on top

Method

Once you’ve pitted the dates, process them in the food processor and mix together with the other ingredients (I like to do this by hand, as it easily forms a really nice, sticky, but perfectly workable, play-doh-type mix). Press down onto a plate with your hands and shape into a rectangle (a knife works well to smooth the top and clean up the edges), cover and place in the fridge while making the frosting.

For the frosting, simply mix together the ingredients and then spread onto the date base. At this point you can decorate by sprinkling some crushed walnuts and raw cacao powder, or whatever else you fancy, on top.

Now, either place back in the fridge or in the freezer to fully harden up. [I didn’t have any space in my minuscule freezer, which is bursting with berries, so I had to just pop the plate back into the fridge. The frosting stayed soft, but, surprisingly, I was able to cut squares without making a mess. If you do freeze before slicing, I’d store them in the fridge after, to get the best, stickiest, fudgiest consistency 🙂 ]. They should last a few days (or longer in the freezer) if you can keep them that long!

Hope you enjoy!

xoxo

Tag: dessert

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