Raw Double Chocolate Brownies

Here is a brownie that ticks all the right boxes – raw, vegan, gluten-free, paleo… – and they taste delicious too. The classic raw brownie is made by blitzing dates, nuts and cocoa in a food processor and mushing the mix together into a ball or bar. Though tasty, those raw brownies are also very dense and usually very sweet because it takes a lot of dates to hold the mixture together. These raw brownies are a slightly different breed. Made with coconut flour, ground almonds and apple puree, they have a texture that’s much more like a traditional brownie.
I was inspired to make these by Emma Potts of Coconut & Berries who posted a recipe for Raw Berry Cream Brownies which totally got my attention. I used a similar method for the brownie base, but instead of a berry cream topping, I went for chocolate ganache – it was a double chocolate kind of day.
This recipe uses cacao powder, which you can readily buy at health food shops or online. I make my own cacao powder from Naturya Cacao Nibs which I blitz to a powder in my blender (I use a Froothie Optimum 9400 which has a jug specially made for grinding dry ingredients). You could do the same to make almond flour, too.
Alternatively, if you’re not fussed about the raw aspect, you can use regular cocoa powder (cocoa powder is made by roasting cacao at high temperatures, which destroys some of the enzymes, and makes it no longer raw – snap!).
Another bonus to these brownies is they give me an opportunity to use my retro vintage nut grinder! Perfect for sprinkling walnuts on top of the brownies! (Of course, you could just use a knife and a cutting board instead.)

Raw Double Chocolate Brownies 
Makes 6 brownies.
For the brownies:

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-4 Tbsp maple syrup or agave (add more or less depending on how sweet you like your brownies)
• 1/3 cup apple puree or mashed banana
• 1/3 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder if you aren’t worried about the raw thing)
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup ground almonds or almond flour
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• pinch of salt

For the ganache:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil (myprotein.com is a good source for quality virgin organic coconut oil that doesn’t cost a fortune)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener of choice)
• small pinch salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Line a small baking tin or container with parchment paper.
2. Mix all of the brownie ingredients together with your hands or in a food processor. You should get a very thick mixture.
3. Spread the mixture into the prepared container and smooth out the top. Refrigerate or freeze.
4. For the ganache, melt the coconut oil over low heat in a medium pot. Remove from heat and whisk in the cacao powder, agave, salt, and vanilla until combined and smooth.
5. Pour the ganache over the brownies and spread out evenly. If you’d like, dust the top with cacao powder and/or chopped walnuts. Put back into the refrigerator to chill.
6. Remove from the refrigerator, slice and enjoy!