Todays recipe – almond butter swirl brownies. Okay so these brownies are so rich in chocolate with the combination of the cacao powder and the melted dark chocolate. The Almond butter lends such a great butteriness to the brownies as a matter of fact any nut or seed butter would give you the same texture. You absolutely won’t miss the butter in these brownies.
We have a main boss in this brownie and that’s cacao. So let’s talk about cacao. In it’s most purest form, cacao can help produce serotonin which increases feelings of happiness in humans. Consuming chocolate can actually help increase your mood. Bearing in mind it should be 70% cacao content or above but hey!
HELL YES TO HAVING A REAL EXCUSE TO EATING CHOCOLATE. EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
Did you know cacao powder is also the ultimate powder house in anti-oxidants? We all hear how blueberries are strong in anti oxidants, well cacao powder has 40 times more than blueberries.
Wow! is all I thought when I first read that. I then quickly rushed to buy my first bag of cacao powder and haven’t looked back since. Typically I buy a 1 kg pack and it lasts me 2 months. As well as baked goodies, I also make raw treats like:
- Chocolate cups
- Raw chocolate nut bars
- Cacao energy balls
I love making treats for my kids and myself on a weekly basis. Chocolate is our vice, but one thing I do to make me feel better about us having so much is that I make sure we are using CACAO instead of COCAO.
What is the difference between cacao and cocoa?
It all starts with a cacao tree. The beans from this tree (cacao beans) are cold pressed and then the cacao butter is taken out. The simple cold pressing process helps keep all the natural health benefits in the cacao like it’s vitamins, minerals and anti oxidants. On the other hand, cocoa is cacao beans that are roasted at high temperatures thereby losing its health benefits but becomes darker in colour, sweeter and cheaper to make. Which is why cocoa is often more used around the world.
If I am making a cake or treats for other family members then I would use cocoa. It is cheaper, darker in colour and gives more chocolatey and richer depth of flavour. Cacao is more bitter and needs quite a bit of sweetener to give it that typical chocolate flavour. It is not my first choice for cakes when baking for others. Luckily my kids don’t know the difference. They see that brown stuff and they think they are in heaven! So for them its cacao all of the time.
*TIP* – I use cacao in date balls and the dates really sweetens the cacao up nicely. It totally hides the bitterness. My kids love date balls, in fact they call them chocolate balls. I hide absolutely every seed and nut possible in to these balls and the kids never notice! For a more simple recipe to get your kids or your self on the cacao train try these chocolate orange Jaffa date balls. If your feeling confident then check out these easy amazing cacao based date fudge brownies that my kids cant get enough off.
Grab the recipe for these brownies down below and enjoy.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/4 cup almond butter any nut butter will do, or even seed butter.
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil any oil will do.
- 1/4 cup cacao cocoa works fine too.
- 1/4 cup oat flour i just blended oats in a blender until it become a fine flour.
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 100 grams chocolate I used 70% dark chocolate
Instructions
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In a bowl, mix toegther the first 5 ingredients together untill nice and smooth.
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Add the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate and combine fully.
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Chop the other half the chocolate bar in small chunks and melt the other half.
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Pour in melted and cooled chocolate in to the batter. Gently mix and then fold in the chocolate chunks.
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In a partchment paper lined brownie tin or tray pour the batter in. Add a few spoons of almond batter all over the top. Get the end of the spoon and swirl the almond butter into lovley S shape motions across and downwards. Don't worry even if you mess this part up, when the the brownie bakes it will still end up looking beautiful and impressive!
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Bake for 15/20 mins in 170*C degree oven. I usually do 15mins - don't over cook the brownie if you want it to be fudgy.
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Let the brownie set for 30 mins before cutting and enjoy. Store in the fridge for about 3 days or freeze for way longer. PS the brownies are even better the next day. The fudgyness increases!
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