Spring, a time for celebrations. Our site has just launched, the streets are greening up, and loved ones are in town all the way from Hong Kong. For a recent family gathering, I had planned a stop by Duo Pâtisserie, my favourite pâtisserie in Toronto, to pick up some desserts. However, since my nephew is allergic to eggs, an excellent change of plan was made for vegan black bean brownies instead.
From Minimalist Baker, I adapted her black bean brownie recipe to suit my kitchen. Everything is done in the food processor, making this recipe very practical. A blender is the closest thing I have to a food processor and it seemed to work well for me in the end, with a little extra time and patience.
I absolutely love sea salt brownies, simply because salt goes so well with the decadence of chocolate. These brownies are also good for just about any occasion. Not only are they vegan and gluten-free, they stand out from other desserts for their high fiber, high protein, and low fat contents. They also happen to be a good source of calcium (18% DV per serving), owing to the cacao powder. While this version contains flax seeds, the omega-3 content isn’t very high since the brownies are baked (heat destroys the omega-3 such that it is not in the form we require it to be anymore).
60 mL coconut fat or oil (to grease muffin tin)
¾ cup black beans, dried (or 1 ¾ cup black beans, canned)
2 full tbsp flax seed, ground (acts as binding agent)
3 tbsp oil, olive or canola
½ cup sugar, brown or white
¾ cup cacao powder
Optional: 2–3 tbsp ground cardamom, to spice things up!
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
Water (90 mL for flax seed eggs, 100 mL for mixture)
Optional toppings: crushed walnuts, pecans, sea salt
Preparing the beans:
Prep time is high as dried black beans were used. To save time, use canned beans.
Bring beans in water to boil, then take off heat and let sit for 1 hour.
Simmer on medium heat for 1 hour until soft (able to be crushed with fork)
Rinse and drain beans thoroughly with cold water
Mixing the ingredients:
Pre-heat oven to 350˚F (176˚C). Grease muffin tins with coconut fat or oil.
Grind flax seeds (I used a coffee grinder). Combine ground flax seed and water to make the binding agent (flax seed eggs). Blend together until smooth and sticky, and let sit for 3 minutes.
Mix cacao powder, sugar and salt together (all dry ingredients except baking powder).
Combine the dry ingredients mix along with the flax seed eggs, beans, and oil. Purée until smooth. Add water as needed; I used about 50mL water. If you only have a hand blender, I suggest blending the beans first before adding in the dry ingredients.
When mixture is smooth, add baking powder and fold until incorporated.
Pour into muffin tins or a small pan, and add toppings of your choice.
Bake for 20–25 minutes at 350˚F (177˚C).
Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes. When removing, be very gentle, as the inside will be tender and soft.
Enjoy!
