Baking & Desserts – Page 6 – Bit of the Good Stuff

Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake (Dairy-free / Egg-free)

Published on March 8, 2013 by Sharon71 Comments

What colour do you associate with Spring?

For me, it has got to be yellow ♥

Everywhere I look at the moment, I’m seeing this beautiful, fresh colour.

In my garden the yellow primroses are in bloom…

as are the sweet little narcissus.

It won’t be long before the daffodils are in full bloom too 🙂

As well as being the colour of spring, yellow also happens to be my mum’s favourite colour ♥

Here in the UK, it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday. I haven’t seen my mum since Christmas so I’m really looking forward to spending the day with her. Inspired by her favourite colour, I’ve chosen to bake a Lemon Drizzle Cake to give her on Sunday as a little home-made treat.

With its light texture, zingy citrus flavour and flecks of bright yellow zest, I think this is the perfect cake for this season.

Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake (Dairy Free / Egg Free)

Since I’m giving this cake as a gift, I haven’t ‘healthified’ it to the extreme (I’m sure my mum will appreciate that 😉 ). However, it is free from dairy and eggs, so will be suitable for anyone with those allergies.

To make the cake super zingy and moist, once it was cooked I pierced it all over with a toothpick and drizzled over the juice from a freshly squeezed lemon mixed in with a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar (which gives the top of the cake a great, crunchy texture).

Just in case you fancied trying it for yourself, here’s how I made it:

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Serves 8 -10
Hand on time: 15 minutes Ready in: 2 hours

Ingredients
200g / ¾ cup + 3 tbsp unrefined cane sugar (e.g. golden caster sugar)
2 TBSP maple syrup (or maple blend. I use Clarks Original).
70ml / ⅓ cup organic rapeseed (canola) oil (or other neutral-flavoured oil, like sunflower oil)
240ml / 1 cup soya milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
30ml / 2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of 2 unwaxed/organic lemons
250g / 1¾ cups plain (all purpose) flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Drizzle
2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 TBSP Demerara (or turbinado) sugar

Method

1. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with non-stick baking paper (or use a non-stick loaf liner). Preheat the oven to 190c (170C fan) / 375F.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, syrup, oil, milk, vinegar and lemon juice using a balloon whisk until fully combined. Stir in the lemon zest.

3. Sift one third of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) into the bowl and whisk by hand to combine. Repeat with the remaining two thirds, whisking each time.

4. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin. Place on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

5. Meanwhile, place 2 TBSP juice from a freshly squeezed lemon in a small bowl with the Demerara sugar. Stir to combine.

6. When the cake is baked, remove from oven and pierce all over with a toothpick or skewer. Spoon the lemon drizzle evenly over the top of the cake. Allow to cool in the tin for at least an hour (it will firm up as it cools) then transfer to a wire wrack.

7. Once completely cooled, slice and serve or transfer to an airtight container. The cake will keep up to a week in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.

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Have a wonderful weekend everyone ♥

READER REMAKES ❤️

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You might also like… Orange Drizzle Cake with Poppy Seeds 🍊

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Vegan Hot Cross Buns (Dairy free, Egg free)

Published on March 6, 2013 by Sharon55 Comments

With Easter fast approaching, we have officially entered hot cross bun season. I adore these sweet, fruity, spiced buns. How about you? Are you a fan?

While the supermarket shelves are laden with hot cross buns this time of year, I prefer to bake my own. That way, I get to make them dairy free, cut back on the sugar and fat content, and pack them with fruits and spice. 🙂

Hot Cross Buns (Vegan / Dairy Free / Egg Free)

Baking your own hot cross buns is not as difficult as you may think. While it seems like a long process, it only takes around 30 minutes hands on time. For the majority of the time the dough is resting!

As an added bonus, if you make your own, you will be rewarded with the most amazing scent of freshly baked buns with hints of fruit and cinnamon spice wafting through the house. Believe me, it is so good!

Hot Cross Buns Collage (Vegan / Dairy Free / Egg Free)

While hot cross buns are normally made with strong bread flour, I prefer to use plain (all purpose), which gives a more tender texture.

Here’s how I make the Hot Cross Buns…

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Hands on time: 30 minutes Resting time: 1¾ hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Makes 15 medium or 12 large buns

Ingredients

Dough
250ml / 9 oz / 1 cup soya milk (or other non dairy milk)
1 tsp fast action / easy bake yeast
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp neutral flavoured vegetable oil, such as rapeseed (canola)
500g / 17½ oz / 3½ cups plain (all purpose) flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp mixed spice
100g / 3½ oz / ½ packed cup sultanas or raisins
100g / 3½ oz / ½ cup Italian mixed peel
Finely grated zest of 1 organic/unwaxed orange
85ml / 3 fl oz / ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or other fruit juice)

Crosses
3 tbsp plain (all purpose) flour
2 tbsp water

Glaze
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice (or other fruit juice)

Method

Gently heat the milk until it is lukewarm. Remove from the heat and whisk in the yeast and sugar. After a couple of minutes the yeast will start to froth.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, spices. Stir in the sultanas, citrus peel and orange zest. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and stir in the oil, yeast milk mixture, and orange juice. Bring together the ingredients using your hands. The dough should be soft and sticky. Depending on the type of flour used, you may need to add a little more liquid.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or so, until the dough is smooth. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel or oiled cling film (plastic wrap) and leave in a warm place for an hour or so until it has doubled in size. If your house is cool (like ours), cover with oiled foil and place in the oven at 40C / 100F for an hour.
When the dough has risen, knead for a further 10 minutes then divide into 12 or 15 equal size balls. To ensure that the buns are exactly the same size and bake evenly, I weigh the dough. My dough tends to weigh about 1.125kg, so I tear off 75g for medium size buns. Roll the dough into smooth balls and evenly space out on a large baking tray (28 x 40cm / 10 x 15”) lined with non stick baking paper. Cover with the damp tea towel, oiled cling film (plastic wrap) or foil and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes or so, until they have risen.
Heat the oven to 200C (190C fan) / 400F.
To make the crosses, mix 3 tbsp plain (all purpose) flour with 2 tbsp water to form a thick paste. Spoon into an icing bag with a thin nozzle (or a plastic freezer bag and snip the corner). Slowly pipe along each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes on the middle shelf, until golden brown.
To make the glaze, gently boil the sugar and fruit juice in a small pan for about 5 minutes until it starts to thicken into a syrup. Brush over the buns while they’re still hot. Allow to set before serving. These buns are most delicious served warm or toasted.
The buns will last 2-3 days in an airtight container. They also freeze well. I tend to slice them in half before I freeze them so that they can be toasted without the need to defrost first.

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UPDATE EASTER 2017
It’s been three years since I posted this recipe and it’s great to hear that people are still finding it useful! I’ve loved seeing all the pics you’ve been sharing on social media, so thank you so much for tagging me! Check out these beauties, that @jameesarah shared on Instagram (you can check out Jamee’s feedback in the comments section below this post).

MORE READER REMAKES ❤️

Back in 2013 when I shared this recipe, it was really difficult to find vegan hot cross buns in UK supermarkets, so I made them myself. Here we are in 2017, and vegan-friendly hot cross buns are available in practically every UK supermarket! Times sure are changing! 🙌🏻

You might also like…

N.B. I’ve been a long-standing registered user of mySupermarket and would like to express my gratitude to them for sponsoring this post.

Apple & Cinnamon Dough Balls (Healthy ‘Monkey Bread’)

Published on March 2, 2013 by Sharon20 Comments

When I first started blogging, I recall there was a wave of health food bloggers posting recipes for ‘Healthier’ Monkey bread. I had absolutely no idea what ‘Monkey bread’ was or why it had such a funny name!

Wikipedia soon filled me in…

Monkey bread, also called monkey puzzle bread, sticky bread, African coffee cake, golden crown, pinch-me cake, bubbleloaf and monkey brains is a sweet, sticky, gooey pastry served in the United States for breakfast. The bread is made with pieces of sweet yeast dough which are baked in a cake pan after first being covered in melted butter, cinnamon and sugar. It is traditionally served hot so that the baked segments can be easily torn away with the fingers and eaten by hand.

Sounds yummy doesn’t it? However, traditional Monkey Bread isn’t particularly healthy. It contains A LOT of fat and sugar. In contrast, the ‘healthified’ versions often use bread or pizza dough as their base, and are glazed with healthier alternatives to butter and refined cane sugar.

One Sunday, I decided to have a go at making some Apple and Cinnamon-Spiced Healthy Monkey Bread as a ‘special breakfast’. It was a huge hit with Lil’ L and M and, I must admit, I’m rather partial to it too.

The ‘authentic’ way to serve Monkey Bread is to invert it onto a plate…

However, we prefer to eat it straight from the pan. Hands get less messy, and you can use the balls to mop up any syrup left in the pan. 😉

If you’re lucky enough to have a breadmaker, then this recipe requires very little effort at all. You simply throw all the dough ingredients in the machine and press a button. I’ve had my breadmaker for a couple of years now and it’s been fantastic! I reckon it’s easily paid for itself in terms of the amount of times we’ve chosen to stay in rather than going to Pizza Express!

Today, I made some Monkey Bread as an after-school treat for Lil’ L and his friend, and I made it by hand to see how it compared to the bread-maker version. To be honest, making dough by hand doesn’t require THAT much effort. It takes less than 15 minutes, which isn’t too bad at all. Plus kneading dough is great exercise for the arms.

Below I’ve given instructions for making the Monkey Bread by hand and in a breadmaker. If you’re planning to eat it for breakfast, you can easily prepare the dough the night before and chill it in the fridge. In the morning, simply remove the dough from the fridge about 20 minutes before you need to use it.

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Makes 18-20 dough balls (serves 3-4)
Hands-on time: 10-30 minutes (depending on whether you make the dough in a breadmaker or by hand)
Dough resting time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Dough
½ tsp fast action/easy blend yeast
300g / 11oz / 2¼ cups wholemeal (wholewheat) bread flour or chapatti flour (I use the latter)
½ tsp sea salt
170ml / 5¾ fl oz / ¾ cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp olive oil

Cinnamon Sugar
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or use granulated sugar)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Apple Cinnamon Syrup
1 organic apple, cored and chopped (I keep the skin on)
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil (or you could use non dairy margarine, like Pure)
2 tbsp maple or agave syrup (I often use Clark’s Original Maple Syrup)
1 tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Prepare the dough.
– In a breadmaker: Throw all the ingredients in the pan and select ‘pizza dough’. The programme should take around 45 minutes. When it signals that it’s ready, leave the dough in the machine for a further 20 minutes or so to rise.
– By hand: Place the yeast, flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water and oil. Mix well with a spoon, then bring it together with your hands until you have a sticky dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea cloth or oiled cling film (plastic wrap), and leave in a warm place for about an hour until it has doubled in size. If your house is cool (like ours) then cover with oiled foil and leave in the oven at 40C / 100F for an hour. When the dough is ready, remove from the oven, knead for a couple more minutes then set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6. Brush or spray a 23 cm / 9″ loose bottom pan with oil.
Prepare the cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
Prepare the apple cinnamon syrup: First blend the apple into a smooth puree. I find the easiest way to do this is to place the apple pieces in a bowl and use a hand blender (stick / immersion blender). Place the apple puree, coconut oil, syrup, sugar and cinnamon in a small pan and gently heat until the oil has melted.
Pull off small amounts of dough and roll them into balls about 2½ cm / 1″ in diameter. Roll them in the cinnamon sugar and place in the oiled pan. Repeat until all the dough has been used. Evenly space out the balls in the pan (they will expand when baking). If you have any cinnamon sugar left over, add it to the syrup pan.
Spoon the apple cinnamon syrup evenly over the top and in between the dough balls. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.
Serve warm, either inverted onto a plate or straight from the pan.

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I hope you enjoy it as much as this little monkey 😉

Good Hemp Seed Giveaway Results!
Before I go, I’d like to announce the winners of the Good Hemp Seed Giveaway. The eligible entries were placed in chronological order and 3 winners were randomly selected using Random.org.

I’m delighted to announce that the winners are…

1. Emma
2. Samantha
3. Penniless Veggie

Please email your postal addresses and I’ll arrange for the gifts to be sent to you asap.

Have a great weekend everyone! xx

CCK’s Black Bean Brownies (Dairy Free / Wheat Free / Vegan)

Published on February 13, 2013 by Sharon7 Comments

I am a huge fan of Chocolate Covered Katie. And who wouldn’t be? This girl takes our favourite sugary, fat-laden treats and transforms them into healthy desserts. Katie’s a vegan, so all her desserts are dairy and egg free, and most are gluten free and free of refined sugar.

What I find really amazing is that Katie’s healthy versions of classic treats often taste far better than the original. And they definitely leave you feeling better inside. No stomach aches, no sugar hangover, and no guilt!

One of my all-time favourite CCK recipes is her No Flour Black Bean Brownie. I love the idea of adding healthful ingredients such as beans into desserts, but when you have children around, it’s important that said ingredients can’t be detected. I can assure you that even the fussiest of kids will be unable to detect the goodness that lies in these brownies. So let’s keep the beans a secret okay 😉

CCK's Black Bean Brownie - Vegan & Wheat Free

I’ve been making and eating A LOT of these brownies in the past couple of weeks. I’ve made them for coffee mornings with friends, lunch box treats for M and Lil’ L, and for my Tuesday night study group. I’ve also made a batch for Valentine’s Day ♥ 😉

Valentines Chocolate Black Bean Brownie with Almonds & Gojis

My current favourite way of serving these brownies is with a topping of dark chocolate, flaked almonds and gojis. It adds another dimension to the texture and flavour, as well as adding even more goodness and nutrition. They also look pretty, don’t you think?

Black Bean Brownie 3 - Vegan & Wheat Free - 500

Since I’ve eaten one of these brownies every day so far this week, it seems fitting to dedicate today’s WIAW post in their honour. Thank you, as always, to the lovely Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for hosting this fabulous food fest.

Katie’s original Black Bean Brownie post and recipe can be found here. Do check it out as her pictures of the brownies are stunning! Katie gives a few ingredient options in her post. Here’s how I make them …

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Makes: 9-12 brownies
Hands-on time: 8 minutes Cooking time: 18 minutes

Ingredients
1 x 400g / 14oz can black beans, rinsed and drained well (or 250g / 9oz / 1½ cups cooked beans)
2 heaped TBSP cocoa powder
50g / 1¾ oz / ½ cup rolled oats
50ml / 1¾ fl oz / ¼ cup organic rapeseed (canola) oil or other neutral tasting oil
100ml / 3½0z / 1/3 cup maple syrup or agave syrup (I use Clark’s Original Maple Syrup or organic agave syrup)
2 TBSP sugar (I use coconut sugar)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
100g / 3½ oz / ½ cup choc chips

Optional topping:
50g / 1¾ oz / ½ bar dark chocolate
flaked almonds
goji berries

Method

Preheat oven to 180C / 350 F (I have a fan oven and still keep it at 180C). Grease a 20cm / 8″ square pan and line the bottom with non stick baking paper.
Place all the ingredients (except the choc chips) in a food processor and blend for a few minutes until completely smooth, stopping now and then to scrape down the bowl.
Stir in the choc chips, then pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Gently spread the mixture using a spatula or knife until it reaches the edges.
Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before cutting. (When you remove the brownie from the oven it will feel soft, but it firms up as it cools).
Optional topping: Melt the chocolate in a bain marie or microwave. Cut the brownies into squares, or use a shaped cookie cutter (hearts are good!). Spread the chocolate on top and sprinkle with flaked almonds and gojis. Lightly press down so they stick to the chocolate.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freezer for a few weeks.

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Black Bean Brownie 2 - Vegan & Wheat Free - 500

Have you tried any of Chocolate Covered Katie’s recipes? If so, which are your favourites?
Next on my list to try is her Lil’ Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. Lil’ L loves this combo so this could be a great lunch box treat for him 🙂

Birthday Celebrations

Published on October 30, 2012 by Sharon10 Comments

On Friday, Lil’ L celebrated his 9th birthday. I’m still in shock that he’s 9 already. Where did all that time go???

For the first time in his life, his birthday actually fell on a school day. He wasn’t too impressed about this to begin with, but it turned out to be a really fun day. It was the last day of the term and and they spent the afternoon making Victorian cam toys. It sounded really cool!

He’d decided to save most of his presents until he got home from school, and he was just so excited and delighted about everything he opened. I loved watching his facial expressions as he ripped the paper off.

Check out his face when he discovered that his Nan had bought him the Nerf Supersoaker Scatter Blast Water Gun!

I couldn’t believe how many presents he’d been given. That boy was seriously spoilt 😉

Reading is still one of his passions and he’s recently got into graphic novels, which are inspiring his imagination and artwork.

He’s also loving the Tom Gates series. From what I can tell, it’s along the lines of The Wimpy Kid but with more graphics. Here’s the ‘blurb’ (as Lil’ L calls it)….

“Brilliant comedies from a Roald Dahl Funny Prize winning series. Tom Gates is a master of excuses, expert doodler, comic story writer extraordinaire – and the bane of his grumpy teacher, Mr Fullerman. And in his wacky journals, you’ll find all sorts of comic craziness to make you groan with glee! Tom’s battered homework diaries are crammed with his scribbles, stories and cartoons – as well as comments from the long-suffering Mr Fullerman. What with his awful big sister Delia, his band Dogzombies (rock stars in the making) AND the school disco, Tom’s life isn’t always easy. But it is laugh-out-loud hilarious!”

(If anyone’s got a 9-11 year old that would enjoy these books, I’ve spotted a great deal on the Scholastic site, where you can buy 3 Tom Gates books for £10. Here’s the link).

Once the presents were opened, it was time to light the candles on his cake and sing Happy Birthday 🙂

I tried a new vegan chocolate cake recipe for this year’s birthday cake. It was okay, but not outstanding. However, what I did love about the cake was the topping and filling. I could have just eaten a plate of those and skipped the cake 😉 Both were made without any refined sugar and they tasted scrumptious! I will definitely use them again. Here’s how I made them…

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Chocolate Date Fudge Cake Topping (dairy-free / can be made raw with no refined sugar)

Ingredients
26 dates (about 1 cup’s worth), soaked for 1 hour in water to soften, then drained
100g / 3.5 oz / 1 bar of good quality dark chocolate or 1 cup of dark choc chips (you can make this topping raw and sugar-free by using raw chocolate. I make my own and the recipe can be found here.)

Method

Gently melt the chocolate using a bain marie. Place the dates in a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Add the melted chocolate and process until completely smooth, pausing now and then to scrape down the bowl.
Use a knife to spread the date fudge on the top of the cake. It will firm up slightly when cool, giving it a lovely fudgey texture.

Raw Chocolate Cashew Cream Cake Frosting / Filling
(raw / no refined sugar / dairy free)

Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight), then drained
3 tbsp raw cacao powder (regular cocoa powder will work too)
1 tbsp virgin coconut oil, gently melted into liquid form
2 tbsp agave syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method

Place the cashews in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth, pausing now and then to scrape down the bowl.
Using a knife, spread half the mixture onto each of the cakes, then assemble the cakes, one on top of the other. Gently press down to secure the cakes together.

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In the evening, for a third birthday in a row, Lil’ L chose to go to his favourite Indian restaurant, Rajpoot in Bath. We all had onion bhajis, mango chutney and poppadoms as starters, then Lil’ L and I chose to share three side dishes as our main course…
– Dall Roshun (Mosur Lentils seasoned with garlic)
– Bagun Bhajee (gently spiced aubergines)
– Mushroom Bhajee
… along with some boiled rice. Lil’ L also had a naan.
M chose to have the Navaratan Pulao (a nutty, fruity vegetable pulao).
All the food was absolutely delicious!

And, to top it off, the staff gave Lil’ L an amazing chocolate ice cream dessert as a birthday treat. Check out the huge sparkler that’s stuck in it. It was awesome!

The birthday celebrations continued all weekend long. On Saturday, he went to the cinema with his best friend to see Madagascar 3. We let them go into the cinema alone (a first for Lil’ L… he was so excited!) while M and I enjoyed some time together in the foyer coffee shop 🙂

The cinema trip was followed by a picnic on the lounge floor, a Lego Star Wars film, then lots of lego building, general larking about, book reading in their sleeping bags and then, at nearly midnight, there was silence as the boys finally fell asleep 😉

Lil’ L had such a fantastic birthday weekend and thank you so much to everyone for all the kind birthday wishes, cards and presents he’s been sent. The ‘thank you’ cards are in production 🙂

Take care everyone!

I hope you’re having a great week so far 🙂 xx

Scrumptious Healthy Chocolate Brownies (with a Secret Ingredient!) (Vegan / Dairy Free / Gluten Free)

Published on October 9, 2012 by Sharon10 Comments

When I saw that Chocolate Covered Katie (CCK for short) had posted a recipe on her blog for healthy chocolate brownies I got very excited. In the past I’ve attempted to make a healthy version of these dark little beauties, but they’ve always been a flop. Never one to throw out food, I would turn the unset gloop into a chocolate pudding instead 😉

However, when I saw that Katie had perfected her chocolate brownie, I knew the recipe would be a winner. She is, after all, the Queen of the Healthy Chocolate World or, as I like to call her, my ‘Fairy Chocolate Mother‘ 🙂

Yesterday I finally got round to trying out her recipe. And oh my gosh it was good!

It was a little soft when it came out the oven but, as Katie states, you need to leave it at least 10 minutes before you trying cutting it. I left it at least half an hour and it had firmed up beautifully by then. I even managed to get it out of the tin in one piece.

Lil’ L couldn’t wait to tuck in…. but I told him I needed to take a couple of shots first. This was followed by a sinking of the shoulders and a big sigh. I promised I wouldn’t take long. The photos aren’t great but I was under extreme pressure to get them finished in 30 seconds flat.

Seriously, just look at how moist these brownies are.

Katie’s shots are way better than mine, so you must check them out.

So how do they taste? Oh my word! Without a shadow of a doubt, they are the best brownies I’ve tasted in my life! Sweet, chocolatey and beautifully moist. Lil’ L loved them and said that they were as good as his regular, favourite brownie from a certain coffee shop (that’s good right?)

As well as being dairy free, they can also be made gluten free, as they don’t contain any flour.

However, they do contain a secret ingredient. Here’s a clue…

Yep, a whole tin of black turtle beans! My favourite beans in a chocolate brownie. You can’t imagine how much that makes me smile 🙂

Lil’ L, on the other hand, was a bit disgusted, so maybe don’t tell your kids, partners or friends about the secret ingredient unless they’re bean lovers like me. They’ll never detect them. I promise!

Here’s Katie’s recipe with my notes (in purple). Do make sure to check out her original post. As well as the beautiful shots, she also provides the nutritional facts and calories per slice.

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CCK’s Black Bean Chocolate Brownie (dairy free, gluten free, vegan)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining) Our cans are metric (400g / 240g drained) but this reduced amount worked fine
2 tbsp cocoa powder- dutch or regular (10g) (add a little extra if desired)
1/2 cup quick oats (40g) I used Mornflake Superfast Oats. Any porridge oats should be okay as they get blended. Use GF oats, if needed.
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave (Honey will work, but not for strict vegans.) (75g) I used agave.
2 nunaturals stevia packs or 2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup) I used unrefined caster sugar. Next time I’ll try coconut palm sugar.
1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g) I used rapeseed (canola) oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (115-140g) (Not optional. Omit at your own risk.) I used 115g.
optional: more chips, for presentation

Preheat oven to 350 F (I have a fan oven and still kept it at 180C). Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor (I’ve got one of those now! 🙂 ), and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture—and even the taste—will be much better in a food processor.) Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Cook 15-18 minutes (I baked it for the full 18 minutes), then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut (I left it half an hour or so). Makes 9-12 brownies. I actually cut it into 16 pieces. This size is great for lunch boxes… or if you don’t want to feel guilty about going back for a second slice 😉 )

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Thank you so much Katie for sharing your amazing recipe. You truly are my Fairy Chocolate Mother 😉

Time for a cuppa and a~~nother~~ slice of chocolate brownie heaven 🙂