Adventures with Beans & Brownies

Posted On January 15, 2014

During a recent visit to the Arts and Crafts Centre in Perth I got to chatting about food with Terrie. We were discussing desserts and she asked me if I knew of a good recipe for Black Bean Brownies.
 
Now, this is a dainty I’d heard and read about, but had not yet tried… although it was definitely on my list of things to look into at some future date! It sounded absolutely fascinating, as what I’d read had described Black Bean Brownies as being delicious and indistinguishable from regular brownies.
Plus, they are wheat and gluten free and loaded with the extra fibre of the beans. Sounded like a win-win kind of treat to me! And here was someone asking me to find a recipe to put in the Blackfly…I could make dessert and get a story at the same time! Multitasking glory!
 

I began by consulting that oracle we know as the internet. Simply googling “black bean brownies” returned nearly 4 million hits! As I briefly read through some of the recipes, I discovered that many of them called for both chocolate chips as well as powdered cocoa.
I had dark cocoa powder from Nissen’s on hand, as well as a can of black beans, but no chocolate chips and I wanted to make the brownies right then. I continued searching recipes and soon found a vegan version that only called for cocoa powder.
 

Now, I wasn’t necessarily looking for a vegan brownie recipe, but the blogger who posted this recipe swore that these were better than regular brownies. She even claimed that if you set them out at a party no one would know about the secret ingredient, and that people would be clamouring for the recipe. I wasn`t necessarily convinced that these would be the best brownies ever…. but I decided to give it a shot.
 

I even had flax seeds on hand to make “vegan eggs” with, and extra-virgin coconut oil. Better and better…. if these brownies were as yummy as advertised they’d have all this extra good stuff in ‘em!
The batter was relatively easy to put together….after you mix your ground flax with water and let it develop some mucilage, you mix everything together in a food processor and whip it up into a smooth batter
 
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The recipe was for individual brownies, made in a muffin tin. I didn’t know if that was vital, but decided not to take any chances. I rooted through the back of my cupboard until I unearthed my muffin pan…it had been awhile since I’d used it so it was looking a little dusty.
 

After a wash, I oiled the individual tins with more coconut oil and soon found that this black bean brownie batter was extremely sticky. Getting the batter into the individual tins was the hardest part of the whole recipe! It took me quite a while to scrape it out of the processor and to make each brownie equal in size. Then I sprinkled them with chopped walnuts and popped them into the oven. I was really looking forward to enjoying a fresh brownie with a cup of tea for an afternoon pick me up!
 

These brownies came out looking beautiful, but I must regretfully report that in my personal opinion they just didn’t cut the mustard taste-wise! They weren’t exactly bad, but they sure as heck weren’t exactly good, either. They were bland and lacking in chocolate flavour, and if you’re snickering right now and wondering what did I expect anyway out of a health food brownie recipe, well…. it was a noble experiment, OK?
 

And, I actually ate most of them over the course of the next week, but I sure didn’t offer them to anyone else and by the time I got to the last two I was over the whole vegan brownie experience and I pitched them out.
 

After I’d recovered from this experience, and had published the Blackfly without a brownie recipe, I got to hankering for a little treat one evening and found a new regular brownie recipe to try. I had all the ingredients on hand, and it seemed it would be simple to make as you melt everything together in one bowl over simmering water before you add the eggs and flour.
 

This food blogger also swore that I would love these brownies and I was a little more inclined to believe her….real butter and real eggs do make a difference.
However, I did make one switch. I used spelt instead of regular flour.
 

Well now. These brownies were exactly as advertised! They were rich, dense and moist, with a shiny and slightly crispy surface and were just bursting with chocolate flavour. They were not overly sweet but I personally like dark, bittersweet chocolate the best. And, the spelt flour substitution worked just fine.
But, my whole brownie mission, as I understood it, was actually to find a gluten free brownie recipe. The black beans were simply a gluten free flour substitute.
 

So, last night I made the same recipe again, only this time I used brown rice flour. I haven`t experimented much with rice flour in baking, so I don`t really know what its limitations are but in this particular instance I am happy to report that it worked just dandy!
 

This batch of brownies is just a delicious as the first batch I made with spelt, and are gluten and wheat free.
Plus, you only use one bowl and one spoon, and the cooking pan is lined so clean-up is a snap!
 

Fabulous Fudgy Brownies

• 10 tablespoons (145 g or 5 oz) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (65 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process. I used the dark cocoa I got in the bulk food section at Nissen`s Market)
• 1/4 rounded teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, cold
• 1/2 cup (70 g) flour (you can substitute Spelt or, for gluten free brownies use Brown Rice Flour, both of which are available at Nissen`s Market)
• 2/3 cup (75 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

 

Directions

1. Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 325 degrees F (163 C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch (20cm) square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. (This helps when removing the baked brownies from the pan, once cooled).
2. Add enough water to a medium saucepan so that it is 1 to 2 inches deep. Heat water until barely simmering. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa powder and the salt in a medium heat-safe bowl. Rest bowl over simmering water (if the bottom of the bowl touches the water, remove a little water).
3. Stir mixture occasionally until the butter has melted and mixture is quite warm. Don’t worry if it looks gritty, it will become smooth once you add the eggs and flour.
4. Remove the bowl from heat and set aside for 3 to 5 minutes until it is only warm, not hot.
5. Stir in vanilla with a wooden spoon or spatula. Then, add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one.
6. When the batter looks thick, shiny and well blended, add the flour and stir until fully incorporated, then beat with the wooden spoon or spatula for 40 to 50 strokes. (The batter will be quite thick). Stir in nuts, if using. Spread evenly in lined pan.
7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out almost clean (you want it to be a little moist with batter). Note: I had to bake these almost 20 minutes longer, so use the toothpick test as your guide.
8. Cool completely then remove from pan. For the cleanest lines when cutting, place into freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to firm up. Cut into 16 squares.

 

There you have it…gluten free brownies that I`d proudly serve at any social function! Ì`ll conduct more future experiments with black bean brownie recipes and report back, but in the meantime, these brownies can really scratch your chocolate itch…