According to culinary history, the first brownie recipe appeared in 1906 by one Fanny Merritt Farmer. I honestly didn’t even know that such a thing as culinary history existed until I googled this! The Internet is fabulous when it comes to random knowledge, isn’t it? It was in Boston, Massachusetts, and so the Americans can proudly credit themselves with this wonderful invention that nowadays delights the whole world with its many many different versions of this chocolatey baked good.
I remember being younger and thinking that the brownie they serve at Burger King was good… I was obviously naive and young! Not that it isn’t decent, but definitely not what I would define as a proper brownie (for starters, it isn’t even crunchy on the outside, an absolute must for me). This brownie recipe, veganized and mastered by myself, is deliciously rich, moist in the middle – I don’t mind that word – and crunchy on the outside. It also happens to be gluten free and sugar free, as it has no wheat flour and it’s sweetness comes from unsweetened dates. Could you go as far as calling it healthy? My verdict is: YES.
- 200g tahini
- 200g dates (place them in 100ml water for at least 30 minutes)
- vanilla
- 70g cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp cornflour or coconut flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 flaxeggs*
- a handful of walnuts
- Preheat oven to 175°C and grease a 20cm baking tin.
- Drain dates but reserve the water. Pulse dates in a food processor until very fine, add the reserved water progressively until you reach a smooth consistency.
- Mix all ingredients, flaxseeds last, and pour into greased tin.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the door ajar for 15 minutes. After, take the tin out and allow to cool before you cut them into squares. It will be crumbly!
*for 1 flaxegg, ground 1 tablespoon flaxseeds and add 3 tablespoons water.
