Black bean in brownies?…why not hey?!. I’m all for adding vegetables into cakes to add extra moistness or a different texture. Everyone accepts carrots in carrot cake so why not black beans hey?. I have always wanted to try this recipe out since I seen it and finally had my chance :). I was dubious about how these would turn out, only as I wasn’t sure how much the texture or the taste would affect the usual ‘normal’ brownies.
I’m usually a fan of dense, chunky brownies with that crispy top, I don’t usually go for the fudgy type as these I think are more like cake than what I class as brownies.
These brownies are super quick and easy to make especially but you do need a blender. I looked for a number of recipes and some only used cocoa powder but I wanted to add chocolate, as that’s what brownies are made from. You need that chocolate fix after all especially when you make brownies.
The other thing I liked about them are they are super protein filled if you can imagine almost a tin of black beans went into these, so could these be classed as ‘healthy’ ;). My initial thoughts of them were that the texture was not like the ‘normal’ brownie, they were more fudge and cake like which I wasn’t expecting, although I shouldn’t have been surprised right? You definitely can’t taste the beans, I gave them to a number of people of which, none could taste the beans at all. Overall, I did think these brownies were a different alternative but I wouldn’t say they compare to a dense brownie. They are more fudge like and if you like that sort of thing then these will be up your street. I would make them again but I think it needed little more chocolate chips and maybe some nuts for that different texture.
- 1 cup - black beans (approx 1 tin)
- 1/2 cup - applesauce
- 2 - eggs
- 1 tsp - vanilla
- 1/4 cup - cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup - sugar
- 100g - dark chocolate chopped into chunks
- 1/3 cup - plain flour
- 1/2 tsp - baking powder
- 1/4 tsp - salt
- 1. Preheat the oven to 175°C and line a square tin with baking paper.
- 2. In a microwave safe small bowl, add 50g of chocolate and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts and stir in between until fully melted, leave to cool. Meanwhile carry on with the other the rest of the steps.
- 3. In a blender, add the beans and applesauce with the optional dash of water, puree until smooth.
- 4. Add the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and cocoa powder. Blend until combined.
- 5. Add the melted chocolate to the blender and blend 2 seconds until combined.
- 6. Finally add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend until combined but don't over blend. The batter will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- 7. Pour into a tin then sprinkle over more chocolate chips, if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
