These Avocado Brownies are rich and indulgent but secretly healthy, and definitely don't taste of avocado! They're a good source of protein and fibre, super satisfying and easy to make.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Drain the dates and place in a food processor or blender with the avocados, almond butter and almond milk.
Blend until completely smooth, mixing it around a couple of times if necessary.
Transfer into a large mixing bowl along with the ground almonds, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.
Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
Transfer the mixture into a square or rectangular baking tin lined with greased baking paper – I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. They should be slightly cracked at the top and slightly firm inside but still quite gooey – be careful not to overcook!
For the frosting (optional):
Break up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the almond milk.
Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and stir regularly until melted – make sure not to overheat it as the chocolate will ‘split’ if you heat it too much.
If the chocolate does split, you can easily fix this by adding boiling hot water to it 1 teaspoon at a time and stirring well until the mixture goes back to normal.
Carefully pour the frosting over the brownies.
Use a spatula, knife or spoon to evenly spread the chocolate across the surface.
Leave to cool completely (and ensure the frosting has firmed up) before cutting into squares.
Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
Video
Notes
*For a refined sugar free version, use a refined sugar free chocolate.
You can use any type of nut or seed butter - almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini etc.
You can replace the ground almonds with ground hazelnuts, ground walnutsor ground sunflower seeds.
You can make them nut-free by using ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds, sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of almond butter and nut-free plant-based milk.
You can add chocolate chips!
Tips for baking with avocados
Make sure your avocados are soft and ripe - the softer the texture of your avocados, the better the texture of the brownies.
Make sure to blend up the avocados until they're completely smooth - nobody wants chunks of avocado in their brownies!
Be careful when peeling and pitting the avocados - don't remove the stone with a knife, it's dangerous!