raw-ish brownies

ever since i attended that vegan food workshop back in january, i’ve been dying to recreate the raw carob brownies that chooi-leng made. granted, they are not entirely raw (the topping is made from melted chocolate) but there is absolutely no baking required, and most important of all – no eggs, no gluten, no dairy, and definitely no soy! i’d say this is a winner.

i am bringing these “brownies” to a friend’s house for a late lunch tomorrow – so i decided to make them today and stick them in the fridge, giving them enough time to “set” and harden up a bit. i remember at the workshop the brownies had less than an hour in the fridge before we were all leaving, so i had the gooiest meltiest brownie in my hands – still delicious, but would have been awesome if it was all in one nice solid package.

the way i made them was a bit of an experiment, and a little bit different to the brownies we made back in january. first of all, there is no carob here – i used cocoa powder in the main brownie “batter”. i also got a bit overzealous with the moistness of the batter and added a splash of rice milk – highly unnecessary, as this made it impossibly sticky. so i’m only including the recipe for what i think it should be (rather than what i used today) – plus my photos of just the batter, and then with the melted chocolate on top (before putting in the fridge to cool and set).

this is a delicious and decadent dessert without the guilt – it’s pretty harmless, except maybe for the chocolate part

no-bake brownies

yields a 15 x 20 cm tray full (the only ruler in this house is metric, i wonder why…)

the particulars:

• 2 cups cashews (soaked or unsoaked)
• 2 cups dates, chopped in thirds
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder (i used green & black’s)
• 1 bar dark chocolate, broken into small bits
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 3 tbsp shelled hemp seeds blended with 3/4 cup water OR 3/4 cup non-dairy milk

1. blend the cashews in a food processor, then add the chopped dates and cocoa powder. blend until fully mixed.
2. melt the chocolate bits in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. add the hemp (or other non-dairy) milk and the agave nectar to the melted chocolate and stir until fully combined.
3. scoop the cashew blend out of the food processor and press into a tupperware or glass container. pour the melted chocolate sauce on top. leave to cool – put in the fridge once mostly cooled and leave until ready to serve.

lesson learned: i’ve seen lots of raw and vegan brownie recipes around the web, and most involve walnuts or pecans instead of cashews. this would make for a nuttier brownie – so give it a go if you don’t really want a smooth or cashew-flavored variety.

Tagged as: dairyfree, eggfree, soyfree, vegan, wheatfree