I just finished my five weeks placement with Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council. Have to admit, I was hit by the legumes bandwagon. Now I am going through a phase of experimenting with black beans and chick peas in baked goods. There are many advantages of consuming legumes. They are low in fat and also an excellent source of protein, fibre and B-vitamins.

The first time I made these black bean brownies, I felt that the recipe required some tweaking. This is my second attempt at it and I absolutely loved it! I’ve decided to keep the recipe vegan and used So free Organic Milk Alternative Chocolate Spread but you can use Nutella or chocolate chips if you prefer. I used no salt added canned black beans and rinsed it before processing it. Not only is this recipe vegan-friendly, it is also gluten-free. Hope that you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients

1. 2 cans of 420g black beans (no salt added)
2. 200g pitted dates
3. 60g cocoa powder
4. 120ml maple syrup (1/2 cup)
5. 120ml vegetable oil (1/2 cup)
6. 1/2 tsp baking powder
7. 1 tsp vanilla essence
8. 150g So Free Organic Milk alternative chocolate spread or Nutella

Directions
Preparation time: 20min
Baking time: 50min or when the skewer comes out clean

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees
2. Lightly grease and prepare a 21cm square cake pan
3. Place the pitted dates in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes. Drain.
4. Rinse the black beans and then place it into a food processor
5. Add the soaked pitted dates, vegetable oil, maple syrup and vanilla essence into the food processor
6. Blend the mixture until smooth
7. Add in the cocoa powder and baking powder into the mixture and blend it until uniform
8. Pour the mixture into the square cake pan
9. Spoon heaps of chocolate spread onto the mixture and using a spoon to create swirls on top of the mixture
10. Place the cake pan into the oven and bake it for 50min or when the skewer comes out clean

There you have it! High in protein and rich in fibre black bean brownies!