Chocolate brownies are a favourite with most people. Perfect brownies are chocolatey, soft and fudgey in the centre, and these dairy-free brownies tick all the boxes. These brownies are super chocolatey and no one would know there is no dairy or eggs, or that they are vegan if you don’t tell them! In fact, this is my go-to brownie recipe because I think it is better than the regular brownie recipe.
Usually you don’t find sweet potato in brownies but it is such a great ingredient to use because not only does it give a bit of sweetness, but it also provides a great texture and binds the mixture like eggs would. The use of dates also give a lovely sweetness sweetness and makes it fudgey. Using sweet potato and dates also means that there is less sugar overall, so I guess you can also say that they are healthier (relatively speaking!) than regular brownies.
There’s a lot of chocolate in this recipe in the form of 70% chocolate and cocoa powder in the dry ingredients, so it’s definitely one for chocolate lovers! These vegan brownies will definitely challenge those that think that brownies need to be made with lots of butter.
Description
This dairy-free vegan chocolate brownie recipe made with sweet potatoes is rich, fudgey and easy to make, perfect for a vegan chocolate treat.
Ingredients
- 375 g sweet potato (1 medium)
- 250 g dates, stoned
- 250 ml water
- 70 g sunflower oil
- 30 ml dairy free (oat) milk
- 75 ml freshly made strong black coffee
- 200 g chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
- 150 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 100 g soft brown sugar
- 13½ oz sweet potato (1 medium)
- 9 oz dates, stoned
- 1 cup water
- 2½ oz sunflower oil
- 2 tbsp dairy free (oat) milk
- 5 tbsp freshly made strong black coffee
- 7 oz chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
- 1¼ cup plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ oz cocoa powder
- ½ cup soft brown sugar
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potato and stab with a fork at various points. Place in the microwave and cook for 7½ minutes at 600W power. Leave to cool for a bit until it is cool enough to touch.
- In the meantime place the dates and the water in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add ¼ tsp of bicarbonate of soda and stir. This will fizz up, leave to one side to cool.
- Place the chocolate cut into pieces with the oil and dairy free milk in a bowl. Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler, or in a microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, repeating until the chocolate is glossy, silky and smooth.
- Peel the sweet potato and add to a food processor together with the dates. Process until it becomes a smooth paste.
- Add the melted chocolate, coffee and sugar and mix well in the food processor.
- In a bowl add the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder.
- Add the sweet potato and date paste to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well until it is all combined.
- Grease or line with parchment paper a 20cm (8 inch) square tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180C (355F) for 30 minutes.
Notes
Pro tip: Cut into squares and freeze in individual portions, either in clingfilm or grease-proof paper. It maintains all it’s flavour and texture, so you can keep it for whenever you need a chocolate fix. If you have any left over that it!