heartyspoonful

"Just for the record darling, not all positive change feels positive in the beginning."

- S. C. Lourie

• 1 large sweet potato or 3 small-medium, roasted until soft
• 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 10-12 large dates, pits removed and soaked in hot water
• 2-4 tbsp maple syrup, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Dark chocolate
• Frozen raspberries

 Note: For the sweet potatoes, I like to roast them covered in aluminium foil in 400F for 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a square pan or a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mash the sweet potatoes. Remove the dates from the water and mash using a fork.

Add oat flour, cocoa powder, dates, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla with the sweet potatoes. You can use a hand blender or if you're looking for an arm workout (like I was), continue using a fork.

Fold in dark chocolate. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and top with frozen raspberries, if desired.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the edges are "crispy". Remove from oven and let cool before slicing. This keeps in the fridge for at least a week in a sealed container.

Enjoy! xx

"I'm starved for connection, not attention."

- Anonymous

"You are what you think about all day."

- Dr. Robert Schuller

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 flax eggs (mix 2 tbsp ground flax with 5-6 tbsp of warm water)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup packed grated zucchini
• Chocolate chips (as much or as little as you like)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a square pan with parchment paper. 

In a medium bowl, cream together coconut sugar and coconut oil. Add vanilla and mix well. Then mix flax eggs.

Add all dry ingredients with the liquids: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix well to incorporate. Then fold in zucchini and finally the chocolate chips.

Transfer the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until the sides are crisped, but the middle is still soft. (As the brownie bakes, prepare the cookie dough - see below.)

Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

When the brownie is cool, add the frosting and spread evenly.

Cookie Dough Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cashew butter
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance, melted
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• Chocolate chips, for topping

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or mix by hand if preferred. Depending on how you like your frosting, you may need to add more of the coconut flour or almond milk.

Enjoy! xx

"If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine."

- Morris West

• 1 cup Dandies marshmallows 
• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax with 5 tbsp of cold water)
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Foods chocolate chunks)
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tbsp finely ground espresso
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 8 tbsp vegan butter, melted (like Earth Balance)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a square pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, mix cocoa powder, vegan chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of boiling water. Stir until the chocolate chips are melted and all ingredients are incorporated well together.

Mix ground espresso, brown sugar, vegan butter, vanilla extract and flax eggs into the chocolate chip mixture. Then pour in the flour mixture. Add boiling water until all well incorporated. You may not need all of the remaining 1/2 cup of boiling water.

Incorporate the marshmallows in the batter. pour in the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Enjoy! xx

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."

- Charles M. Schulz

Personally, I believe in destiny, but of course, just like with how you take a shot of tequila, prepare the grain of salt. I believe in hard work, first and foremost, but sometimes, life just hands you lemons and you can't make anything sweet out of all the squeezing and sacrifices. That's just how it is. The world owes you nothing, no matter how much effort you put in sometimes. There are instances though that take you by surprise because the good things just happen. Destiny.

Or a happy accident. Or fate. Or serendipity. Or whatever you want to call it. But even in that movie Serendipity (don't even pretend you haven't seen it yet), a lot of effort is put in by Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. Ironically, the movie is called Serendipity. I guess it's all just meant to be. See, I worked hard for the grades I earned in school. Sure, I breezed through some classes, but for the most part, nights of fun were sacrificed to get extra hours of studying. But I seemed to have been destined to bump into Shia Laboeuf and Jake Gyllenhaal and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. No, I'm not a stalker, who meticulously planned each encounter. I'm not deranged. Not really.

So, you can only imagine how much I've praised all deities when I happened to have made vegan black bean brownies. You see, I was putting all effort into preparing a vegan Mexican dish with black beans. But, randomly and rather unconsciously, the black beans ended up in the food processor and I somehow managed to add cocoa powder. That, to me, is destiny. Who says destiny has to mean a life-changing event? Small miracles count, too.

Of course I've heard of black bean brownies before, but really, all I knew about them is that you need black beans and you add no flour at all. Without any exact measurements, I eyeballed the whole thing, a little afraid of the possible outcome. Like, come on, Carla, that can of organic black beans could have been a delicious burrito! I've also ran out of brown sugar, which I typically use in baking, so coconut sugar was my replacement. I had made chia eggs, which really was for my chia pudding with coconut yoghurt, but decided, hey why not, let's add it in the food processor. You see, not having a recipe in mind and without much thinking can lead to fortunate happenstance. Sometimes, at least. My kitchen bore witness to many accidental disasters.

I wasn't particularly sure about the batter though. It was a cross between brownie batter and muffin batter. Since my mum already pulled out the muffin tin, I went for it. It didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would've. Here goes...

Vegan Black Bean Brownies
Makes 11-12 brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 chia eggs (I used Prana chia seeds)
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 3-5 tbsp of water, as needed
• Vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips)

Prepare chia eggs by mixing 2 tbsp of chia seeds with 15 tbsp of water. Mix well and let sit until jelly-like texture is achieved. Note that this adds a bit of crunch to the brownies. You can also substitute with ground chia seeds or flax.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil.

In the food processor, add all ingredients except for water and vegan chocolate chips. Pulse until smooth. Then, depending on the consistency, add water so that the batter isn't too thick. Careful not too add too much liquid as the brownies would turn cakey.

Pour batter in muffin tin, reaching halfway of each cup. Top with chocolate chips.

Bake for at least 20 minutes. Make sure that the brownies aren't too soft and that the edges are well-formed. Cool completely before removing from the muffin tin.

Enjoy! xxx

 "Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me."

- Audrey Hepburn

Look, as much as I say I’m a perfectionist, I don’t believe in perfection. It’s a myth. There’s no such thing as perfection. Though there may be synonyms out there available (the paragon, the ideal, the bee’s knees, etc.), even the word “perfection” can’t be matched 100%. I’m not a linguist, for sure, but this is my two pence on the matter. Perfection is that ultimate goal that everyone tries to live by, to reach, to hone… but we all end up disappointed, surely. Things can be great. Outcomes can be fantastic. Everything is as it should be. But to the point of perfection? I highly doubt it. You know why? Because life is meant to be messy and fun and somewhat great and totally out of this world and redundant and just okay. That’s all okay, too. It’s a sign of life well lived—having all that commotion, thrill and utter confusion, but you thrive along.

Okay, I won’t philosophise here much longer. I’m definitely not Plato or Socrates, but my point is, we can’t achieve perfection. We can achieve great and if we try enough and not settle for pretty good results, we may even attain greater. You feel me? This is why I don’t settle. I try things. I have endless favourites. I can’t make up my mind sometimes on something that seems so fundamental. Ask me what my favourite book is and I’ll give you a doe-eyed look. It may even leave with with the impression that I don’t read at all (which is complete bollocks because books are life). But, now, you may even begin to understand why, although I completely love my vegan avocado recipe, I just had to experiment with other recipes. The original was great, but perhaps, I have found something greater. (This sounds like a breakup speech…)

Fat in baking is essential. Some people might disagree with me on this, but this is my opinion. Try taking the fat out of baking and you’ll end up with a cake that’s gummy. Sure, it’s edible, but it’ll leave your mouth questioning what it has ever done to you. Unless you’re baking with 3 pounds of butter plus cream and all that jazz, a little fat never did hurt nobody.

If you’ve ever baked avocado brownies using my original recipes multiple times, you’ll notice that the texture can vary a lot. I’ve experienced it whilst using the same ingredients with the same measurements, although under different emotional circumstances. But there are days when the brownies turn very gooey, or at other times very cake-y. I just wanted a brownie recipe that tasted delicious, but would yield the same result each time. Is that too much to ask?

When I first stumbled upon the recipe of The Pastry Affair, I was curious. Oil? Really? Did I need it on top of the avocado? I tried this recipe and I was over the moon. It was fantastic! The brownies were gooey, soft with a bit of a crunch on the edges. It’s also rather cool watching the foaming action when you add the vinegar with the baking soda (oh, hello, Science fair). I made some modifications, as per usual. See below recipe with my changes. This is simply because baking is such an unpredictable endeavour. I like to eyeball and look at how dry/wet the batter is. It’s very important. Sometimes, 1/4 cup of liquid is all you need, sometimes you’ll need all the 3/4 cup of water. The softness and size of your avocado affect the batter as well. But overall, I’ll give this recipe a good 9/10. I’m sure there’s a better avocado brownie recipe out there. Who knows, perhaps you’ve yet to think it!


Avocado Brownies (adapted from The Pastry Affair)
Serves 9-16

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, mashed
• 1/4 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup water (make sure at room temperature if using coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mash avocado. Then, add and mix oil. Once smooth, add in flour, cacao powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, water and vinegar. Mix until smooth. Check the consistency of your batter. Add in more water if it’s too thick. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool before slicing. If over baked, the brownies will have a cake-like consistency.

Enjoy! xx

Vegan Avocado Brownies 
Recipe adapted from The Veggielogues

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour*
• 1 cup organic white sugar**
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder***
• 1/2 baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup ripe avocado, pureed (I use 1 avocado)
• 1/4 cup plain soy milk****
• 2 tbsp water****
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use dark chocolate chips from Enjoy Life)