This recipe was given to me by one of my clients, the amazingly culinarily talented Tamar. My son Mitchell, on finding they contained, of all things, BEANS, thought we should call them Hidden Bean Brownies. But in my crazy house, that quickly morphed into Hidden Brown Beanies. You can call them whatever you like.
I made one addition to Tamar’s recipe – raw beetroot. Beetroot is rich in an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which has powerful anti-cancer activity. And it makes these brownies very rich and more-ish.
I use cacao powder (raw chocolate, available in health food shops) rather than ordinary cocoa because it has 3 times the antioxidant capacity of cocoa plus it’s not bitter, which means you don’t have to use sweeteners. You could use carob powder instead if you prefer.
These brownies have a dense, satisfying texture, rich but not cloyingly sweet.
Ingredients:
1 cup/110 g walnuts or macadamias (optional)
2 cup/250 g dates
1 small beetroot – mine weighed 80 g when peeled
1 cup/180 g unsweetened applesauce (I made my own by blitzing cored apples – I left the skin on for added antioxidants – with a few tablespoons of water for 10 seconds at speed 8, then cooking at 90º for 8 minutes at speed 4 with the measuring cup off, then blitzing on speed 8 for another 10 seconds)
2 tablespoons/15 g ground flaxseed/linseed – ground fresh in your Thermomix, of course!
400 g cooked or canned beans (any variety – I used black beans)
2 tsp natural vanilla extract
1/2 cup/30 g cacao powder
3/4 cup/100 g flour (I used wholemeal spelt)
1 tsp bicarb soda
Thermomix method:
Preheat oven to 180º.
Roughly chop the nuts for 3 seconds at speed 4, then set aside.
Blend dates with peeled, halved beetroot for 30 seconds at speed 10. Scrape down the bowl and lid, then add applesauce, flaxseed, beans, vanilla and cacao. Blend for 30 seconds at speed 8, using the spatula to scrape the bowl while processing. Remove the lid and scrape it and the bowl again, then blend for another 20 seconds at speed 8. Mixture should be thoroughly homogenised.
Add the flour and bicarb soda, and mix on Reverse at speed 3 for 20 seconds, using the spatula to push the mixture down into the blades. Remove the lid and scrape it and the bowl again, then mix for another 10 seconds at speed 3. Repeat as necessary until all the flour is mixed in.
Add the chopped nuts and mix for 10 seconds on Reverse at speed 3.
Spoon the mixture into a 30 cm x 25 cm slice tin and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Slice while still warm. Best when chilled before eating – if you can keep your kids away from them for that long!
Regular method:
Preheat oven to 180º.
In a food processor or high-powered blender, blend dates with peeled, halved beetroot until completely homogenised. Add applesauce, flaxseed, beans, vanilla and cacao. Blend at high speed until thoroughly homogenised.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl, and stir in flour and bicarb.
Stir in the chopped nuts.
Spoon the mixture into a 30 cm x 25 cm slice tin and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Slice while still warm. Best when chilled before eating – if you can keep your kids away from them for that long!
Hint:
If you’re weaning your children (or yourself) off sweet junk food, you may want to substitute 1 cup of a relatively unprocessed sweetener such as palm sugar or date sugar (dehydrated, pulverised dates) for 1 cup of the dates. Date sugar is sold in better health food shops; palm sugar is available in the Asian food section of larger supermarkets, and Asian groceries.
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