SUCCESS Guilt Free Chocolate Brownies (cakes)

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  • posted by LJO
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    YAY! After the muffin failure I was very nervous to bake the brownies, but they worked! I read the blogs here, as the book instructions for these are too basic (chuck it all in and bake). I grinded the cacao nibs to powder, I chopped the dates in my small food processor to make a clumpy paste. Blended all the ingredients in the food processor and it smelt/tasted ‘normal’, I was hopeful 🙂

    Recipe says 3 large eggs – I added 4 medium
    I also added about a tablespoon of my left over filter coffee

    My only question is – how can I make them more like dense brownies? They are like cake squares really. Would I just make them ‘wetter’ by adding more coconut oil?

    Has anyone ‘pimped’ these brownies with extra superfoods? ‘Greens’ powder? Matcha tea? Ground flaxseeds? Chia Seeds?

    Generally happy to eat these – just want to make them more delicious so that my husband and neighbours will too!

    LJO x

  • posted by RozyDozy
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    Thanks for this advice – I’ve been pondering making the brownies. I might give them a go this weekend.

  • posted by RozyDozy
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    Hi again LJO, I finally got around to making these today. I am not a brownie aficionado so not entirely sure what the perfect brownie texture should be! However, I found the end result to be acceptable.
    I did not have almond flour, rather I used up my pack of ground almonds which I assume is not as fine as the flour. Maybe that will give a bit of “body”…. I don’t have a processor to grind the nibs (elbow grease & pestle/mortar, must have burned up a calorie or two), so I’ve got “bits” which make for a different kind of texture. Admittedly, since I was low on eggs, I only used 2 large ones – the raw mixture seemed wet enough but after cooking I think mine needed the extra egg.
    I don’t think these diet versions are ever going to be quite as good as the real thing!

  • posted by Funkydoofamily
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    I have been using this recipe to make 20 brownies for 115 calories each. I use soaked raisins not dates and less honey than suggested here but that’s preference I suppose. I have baked them in a smaller roasting tin to give depth and 25-30 minutes cooking. I freeze mine and take one out just as I leave for work so it’s ready to go at lunch time. They’re not perfect but they do the trick when you need something sweet!

    Ingredients
    5 Eggs
    100 grams Cocoa Powder
    4 Tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil or Butter (60g)
    1/8 teaspoon Salt
    4-5 Tablespoons Honey
    100 grams Raw Beetroot
    15 Dates pitted (I used soaked raisins as didn’t have dates and they are Carb heavy. Used 240g)

    Instructions
    Preheat the oven to 200*C.
    In a food processor blend the beetroot, dates/raisins and eggs for 1-2 minutes. Then add the other ingredients and blend until smooth.
    Pour the mixture into a greased tray so it’s about an inch in thickness. (I used a half size baking tray which gave depth)
    Bake for 20 minutes for gooey brownies or 25 minutes for firmer ones.
    Allow to cool then cut into slices.
    Makes 20, 115 calories each
    Store in fridge or freezer.

  • posted by Lrred
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    Thanks! I will try these tomorrow!

  • posted by FabEllie
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    I wish I had read this thread before giving the brownies recipe a go 🙁

    I had my doubts about what to do with the cacao nibs but as I’ve not used them before I decided to bow to the authors greater authority and bung them in the mixing bowl without doing anything to them first. I ended up with a biscuit coloured mixture dotted with intact chips. I tasted it and it was not especially good. As an experiment I’ve put them in the oven anyway but my expectations are very low. Next time I’ll go with my instincts. There are some great ideas here, I may borrow them in future 🙂

  • posted by FabEllie
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    Not sure where I went wrong given that it’s such a basic recipe but the brownies came out of the oven a while ago and I’ve just tasted one. They have no sweetness at all and I can taste the cacao which is slightly bitter. Gonna have to count this batch as a fail 🙁

  • posted by Northernbloke
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    The recipe as in the book is just nasty. Very dry mixture with bitter cacao nibs. Probably needs major changes as described above to save this recipe

  • posted by TumtumP
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    Aldi sell cacao powder and various other superfood powders. All around £2

  • posted by Sunbird
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    Hi I just made the Chocolate kidney bean cake in the BSD recipe book for a dinner party and they turned out really well. I halved the recipe (eg 3 eggs instead of 5; 8 dates) and made 9 muffins size cakes. No one guessed they weren’t the real thing. Had a nice dark chocolatey flavour. I also froze 1 cup of some mixed berry I blended with a splash of coconut milk in an ice block tray and served those with them and a mint leaf for deco. Very nice! Also gluten free for those guests sensitive to gluten. I saw this recipe is similar to the Chocolate surprise cake placed in an article re BSD in daily mail.

  • posted by bmmorag
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    They sound good – I have decided to live a little dangerously and not weigh myself until my birthday which is three months tomorrow. I think they will be a great birthday cake treat which won’t derail me.

  • posted by Soupandchocolate
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    YUK! Don’t bother with these ‘brownies’. They may be low cal and low carb and low sugar but they’re not brown, not sweet and really not nice! Rather than tweak the recipe I think you’d be better searching for an alternative and shelving this one. What a waste!

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