Healthy Wholesome Fudge Brownies – Raw Cacao – No Processed Sugar
https://4lifeza.co.za/collections/baking-kits
Link to the Brownie Kit. Get the pack with the right quantities of ingredients you need to bake the Brownies.
Ingredients:
Brownie Cake Base
- 60g Raw Cacao Paste.
- 35g Raw Cacao Butter.
- 80g Cold Pressed Unrefined Coconut Oil.
- 300g Dates soaked in 1 ½ cup (375ml) warm water for 30 minutes or until soft enough to blend in a blender, food processor or “Bullet” type blender.
- 4 Tablespoon fulls coconut sugar.
- 3 Eggs.
- 170g Macadamia Nut Flour. (Substitute 50g Nut Flour with stone ground wheat flour, any other whole stoneground flour or almond flour).
- 60g Raw Cacao Powder.
- ½ Tea spoon full Baking Soda (Food Grade).
(Optional – Additional 3 Tablespoon fulls desiccated coconut).
- ¼ Cup Raw Cacao Nibs.
- ¼ Cup Raw Cacao Paste chopped into fine pieces.
(Optional – additional ¼ cup finely chopped almond nuts or favourite nut).
Raw Cacao Topping
- 50g Dates soaked in ¼ cup (65ml) warm water.
- 30g Raw Cacao Paste in approximately ¾ cup (200ml) warm water.
- 20g Raw Cacao Butter.
- 20g Cold Pressed Unrefined Coconut Oil.
- 30g Raw Cacao Powder.
- 1 Tablespoon full Raw Honey (or add more for additional sweetness). 1 to 2 Tablespoon fulls is quite sufficient, even for the sweet tooth.
Method
Cake Base
Pre-heat oven to 180C (Gas oven to 200C, and after 10 minutes reduce to 185).
Line a 20x20cm baking dish (preferably glass) with baking paper or coat with coconut oil.
I prefer greasing the dish to get to all the yummy, sticky bits left at the bottom of the dish.
- Melt Cacao Paste, Cacao Butter, and Coconut Oil in a double boiler (or in a small dish inside a pot of water).
(While the Cacao is melting
- Blend soaked dates in a blender, food processor or “Bullet” type blender, to a creamy paste (this can be done the day before to save time when baking).
- Beat the date mixture, eggs and coconut sugar with an electric handheld mixer or food processor to a smooth and creamy texture and the volume has increased somewhat (5 to 7 minutes).
- Once the Cacao Paste mixture has melted, blend until combined (It is acceptable for some of the oil to not blend through. There may be some melted Cacao Butter floating on the mixture – it will blend in with the rest of the recipe).
- Add the Cacao blend little at a time to the date paste until well combined. This is now a chocolaty mixture, delicious enough to serve as is for dessert. Taste.
- Sieve the flour, Cacao Powder and baking soda to remove lumps, and gently fold into the Cacao mixture. Combine completely.
- Use a spatula or wooden spoon and gently fold in most of the Cacao Nib and Paste mixture (and nuts if you opted to add nuts). Keep approximately 2 tablespoon fulls aside to sprinkle over the Brownie before baking.
The mixture is now thicker than cake dough, almost the texture of a thick chocolate mousse, and quite sticky.
Taste it -Yummy!
- Spoon the dough into the oven dish, smooth over with a large spoon or spatula.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven (180C; Gas Oven 200C for 10 minutes and thereafter reduce to 180C) for 25 to 30 minutes.
Test for readiness by inserting a thin knife right to the bottom of the dish before removing from the oven.
If the dough is still very sticky continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.
You can also smell the readiness – a lovely aroma of rich chocolate cake.
If there is a little bit of stickiness left on the knife when testing, it is ok. The brownie will be moister. The stickiness will also settle when cooled down.
The baking time depends on the type of oven, temperature and humidity of the day.
Cacao Topping
Prepare the Cacao Topping while the Brownie is baking.
- Keep the honey and Cacao Powder aside.
- Combine the balance of the Cacao topping ingredients in a dish or container of a “Bullet” type blender.
- Blend well into a paste (using electric hand mixer or blender).
- If necessary, add more hot water, 50ml at a time.
- Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. It should be the texture of thick melted chocolate, viscous enough to pour over the baked Brownie.
- Add the Cacao Powder and Honey. Blend.
- Taste for sweetness and add more honey if desired.
- After removing the Brownie from the oven, use a knife or fork to make tiny openings, so that the hot Cacao topping can fill the openings.
- Now pour the topping over the Brownie, allowing it to seep through the Brownie base. Smooth the topping over.
- Allow it to cool slightly, before cutting into blocks (your choice of size).
- Enjoy hot or cold as is, or with fresh cream.
