In a recent post I showed some “alternative” brownies I made as a slightly healthier variant to enjoy in these stay-indoor, low-exercise days.
Here’s the recipe, in case you might want to try.
These are not as sweet as the store-bought ones, so you might want to adjust sweetness to suit your taste. Keep sugar quantity to a minimum for a healthier version.
It could be adapted for vegans by replacing eggs and chocolate with vegan alternatives 🙂
Makes 4 small browny loaves (like the ones in the picture)
INGREDIENTS:
> Quantities are slightly approximate as I improvised <
250g Aduki beans (Japanese red beans*) 3 eggs 50g coconut butter 100g cocoa powder 50g dark chocolate 50g sugar 1 pinch of sea salt (enhances the sweetness)
STEPS:
Prepare 4 small baking trays (each about 12 by 22 cm, 4.5 by 8.5 inches, or so) – they don’t need to be very deep, but at least 5 cm, 2 inches.
Line them with baking paper to prevent sticking.Â
Cook the aduki beans in water for a long time (approximately 2 hours) until they’re well cooked and soft.
Drain them of water and let them cool down.
Preheat your oven at about 180 degree Celsius, with top and bottom heating.Â
Mash them with the blender until they have a soft paste consistency and the skins are no more detectable.
The consistency should be soft but not too watery (slightly runny but not much).
Add the coconut butter and whisk, then the cocoa powder, sugar and salt, while continuing to whisk. Finally add the eggs.
When done, mix in small chunks of the dark chocolate (about half of the choc bar).
The mix is now ready to go in the lined baking trays. Distribute evenly across the trays.
Shake gently to allow the mix to settle. Spread some choc chips on top. The mix should be about 1/2 inch (1 to 1 1/2 cm) deep.
Bake in the oven until the mix is dry but not very dry (it shouldn’t be as dry as biscuits or cake, but rather still retain a somewhat spongey texture).
The baking time might vary slightly from oven to oven, for me it took approximately one hour. I checked them from time to time to assess the cooking stage.Â
When cooked, let them slowly cool down.
Then cut into slices or tiles and serve.Â
~ ~ ~
These can keep for some days – I stored them in the fridge, but a cool and dry area might work as well.Â
If you make them, let me know how this worked for you.. hope you enjoy them!
* Aduki beans (aka as adzuki or azuki) are Japanese red beans, see https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/aduki-bean. I got these ones through Amazon (no paid link)