Holy Fudge Black Bean Brownies from Laura Lea’s Balanced Cookbook
Yes, we call this health food.
We’re not into extremes; we prefer Oscar Wilde’s “everything in moderation—including moderation” POV. So we were so ready for The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook to hit our bookshelves in 2017. We’ve since dog-eared the hell out of our copy, flagging game-changing recipes from this Nashville-based Certified Holistic Chef. She shows her southern stripes with comfort dishes that are delicious, nutritious and EASY (a Verse must).
In honor of Laura Lea’s forthcoming follow-up (coming April 7), here’s one of our stand-bys from her first, with a hit of sneaky protein that lend it Verse-approved health-food status.
Holy Fudge Black Bean Brownies + 1-minute ganache
hands-on time: 15 min total time: 1 hour 50 minutes
12 to 15 brownies
brownies:
1 15-ounce can unsalted black beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
¾ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup unsalted almond butter (or sub nut butter of choice noting it might change flavor)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ½ ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped into ¼ inch pieces (recommend 72%) (or sub chocolate chips)
1-minute ganache (optional)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter (or sub coconut oil)
2 tablespoons canned full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a standard (8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ¾ inch) loaf pan with parchment paper, making sure there are at least 5 inches of parchment overflowing on each side.
For brownies, combine all ingredients except chopped chocolate in a food processor or high-powered blender. Puree until completely smooth, scraping down the side as needed.
Empty mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in chopped chocolate/chocolate chips. Turn dough into loaf tin and shake gently to create an even layer. At this point, you can trim back some of the parchment, but leave an inch or two overhanging.
Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with only a tiny bit of batter. Remove from the oven and refrigerate brownies for 30 minutes.
If making the 1-minute ganache, combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, whisking, until ingredients are evenly incorporated and there are small bubbles forming around the edge. This should only take one minute. Remove the ganache from the stove and allow to cool 20 minutes before using. The recipe makes approximately ¾ cup.
Add the ganache to top the brownies. Refrigerate another 15 minutes before slicing. If you want the ganache to solidify even further, refrigerate an hour before slicing. If not using the ganache, allow brownies to cool a total of 45 minutes to an hour after baking before slicing (no refrigeration required).
