Raw Chocolate Brownie with Chocolate Sauce
This rich slice of brownie goodness just made my DAY!! Thank you to The Rawtarian for the idea! After seemingly forever without any chocolate (it feels like a very long time ago since we did the Willies Cacao and Chocolate tastings – our favourite chocolate in the world!) Lee treated me to this yummy dessert. After all we couldn’t go on a raw diet without experimenting with a broad range of food including LUXURY puddings could we? J Hehehe!
Whilst munching our way through half a slab last night we concluded the only possible drawback is the amount of sugar it contains (from the dates) and fats (from the coconut oil and the nuts…) But then you’re not supposed to eat 1/2 slabs at one sitting!! It is unbelievable to think there is no butter, cream or chocolate in this recipe; it tastes just so rich.
But because it’s all healthy ingredients; it is still no major crime to while the evening away with a delicious huge slab and a tasty cup of sweet vanilla rooibush tea to accompany it! And that’s exactly why I love this recipe – it’s naughty tasting healthy food!! Woo-hoo!
In the bits, we used soaked almonds instead of pecans and it worked out very nicely. We were lucky to have a few coconuts hanging around, so we were privileged to used fresh coconut and shredded it in our coffee grinder. The star of this recipe though is the salt (it is not often you say that!), Halen Mon Tahitian Sea Salt. We’ve been waiting to use this since we tried it in a ‘Dark Chocolate Ricotta’ recipe a few months ago. It really brings out the flavour of the chocolate and adds subtle hint of vanilla.
This recipe makes a great base for other desserts and can also be easily rolled up into dark chocolate truffles.
This is so packed full of energy, with the dates and nuts alone, if you planing on running any marathons in the near future, we highly recommend this for dessert the night before. You will break records!
The Bits
Brownie
1 cup pecans (you can use walnuts/ almonds in a pinch, but pecans are much better)
1 cup dates (stoned)
5 tablespoons raw cacao (cocoa) powder
4 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut (dessicated will do)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teas Halen Mon Tahitian vanilla sea salt (normal sea salt is of course cool too)
Chocolate Icing
1 cup dates (soften in water for 1 hour)
1/4 cup raw cacao (cocoa) powder
1/4 cup cold-pressed coconut oil
3/4 cup water (or a tiny bit more if needed)
Do It
Brownie
Add the nuts to your blender and whizz until broken down, then add dates and blend for a minute, add all other ingredients and continue to whizz away until the mixture turns a lovely shiny dark brown, not too buttery (you should still be able to see bits of nuts). You may need scrape the mixture from the side of the blender to ensure that all is blended nicely.
Press down into a suitably rectangular container (cake tin will do) and press down evenly so the mixture evenly covers the base.
Cover and refrigerate, this mix keeps its shape well and even looks like a brownie!
Chocolate Icing
Could not be easier, soften your dates in the water for an hour before blending. This makes them softer and easier going. Then add all ingredients to the blender and whizz up. Start slowly and build up the speed, blend for a while, until the icing begins the shine and no dates can be seen (roughly 5 minutes). If needed, turn off the blender and scrape the icing down from the sides.
Voila!! A rich icing that would grace any dessert!
Raw Chocolate Brownie
Serve
We keep the chocolate sauce separate, in a sealed container, and spread onto the chunks of brownie when cut. Both the brownie and the sauce keep well in the fridge for a while. Otherwise, this needs no additions, just a few sweet teeth and a nice cuppa!
We Love It!
Deep, rich and velvety. This is a stunning recipe that keeps well and gets better with age (i.e. a couple of days). It is incredibly dense and a little goes a long way, meaning more days of decadent brownie time, which is never a bad thing. The icing is also very versatile and has an almost mousse-like texture that melts in the mouth.
Foodie Fact
To the Aztecs, the cacao bean was the food of the Gods. Raw cacao is bitter ad is normally sweetened, it is the main ingredient of chocolate and boasts many health benefits.
Cacao produces much the same effect as caffeine, yet milder and non-addictive. It stimulates the brain to produce a gentle euphoria via a release of endorphins. It also contains very high levels of antioxidants.
Like much of the research on foods, the science is ever changing and the cacao bean seems to be a contentious topic. The general opinion though is that it’s a superfood and dark chocolate, even when processed, contains many health benefits.
beach house kitchen 