Black Bean Brownies

These brownies are gooey, soft and delicious and even better, you would never know that they contain two tins of black beans! They are also gluten and wheat free and super fast to make. The recipe is not too sweet—so if you like your brownies sweeter, feel free to add some more maple syrup. I hope you enjoy them.

Ingredients, makes 20

2 tins black beans, rinsed and drained
220g butter, melted
4 medium eggs
90g raw cacao powder (unsweetened)
150ml maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150g walnuts, roughly crushed (save 25g for the topping)

Options:
You can switch the butter for coconut oil to make dairy free. You can also switch the walnuts for dried cherries to make nut-free.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease a ceramic baking tray (around 25cm x 20cm) and line the base with some baking paper.
2. Place the drained beans, eggs, maple syrup, raw cacao and vanilla in a food processor and process at a high speed until completely smooth.
3. Soften the butter in a pan on a very low heat until just melted. With the motor running, add the melted butter in a slow, steady stream, so as not to cook the eggs.
4. Next add 125g crushed walnuts and stir through with a spoon so as not to break them up further.
5. Pour into the ceramic dish and sprinkle over the remaining walnuts.
6. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 minutes. The surface should be slightly cracked and the texture should be springy, but firm.
7. Leave to cool in the dish, before cutting into portions.

Freezes well.