Carob zucchini brownies (vegan, gluten-free)
These carob brownies are super comforting, rich, bitter-sweet, fudgy, intense but at the same time light to digest, refined-sugar-free, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, basically all-the-main-allergens-free…
This dessert is basically absolutely FREE!
Why are these brownies chocolate-free?
I used to love chocolate, too, trust me! But then my belly stopped digesting it properly. Don’t fret. It doesn’t taste entirely like chocolate, but it is the same level of satisfying, or even higher, I'd say! Plus you CAT TOTALLY make this chocolatey and sub the carob powder for cacao powder & some chocolate - but you don’t have to, if chocolate doesn’t work well with your tummy.
Oh, and btw: watch out.
It is absolutely likely that you’ll end up eating the whole freaking plate. And that you’ll bake another one the following day. And eat it all once again.
I can guarantee this recipe is worth trying. I cannot, however, guarantee you’ll be able to hold yourself back when indulging in the result.
Ingredients
First of all, for this recipe, make sure you have a blender, a large bowl, a couple of smaller bowls and a pester+mortar combo for this.
Then, get this yummy stuff:
chia “egg” (1 tbsp chia seeds + 2-3 tsp hot water)
1-2 zucchinis (1 large / 2 smaller ones)
1 cup sunflower seeds to blend (or ready-made sunflower seed butter)
1 cup coconut sugar (or another sweetener of your choice)
3/4 carob powder (feel free to use raw cacao powder instead)
1 cup oats to blend (or ready-made oat flour)
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp coffee beans (optional)
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
2-3 tbsp cocoa nibs or chopped nuts (optional)
How to make your brownies
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C and prepare your baking tray (either line with parchment paper, or use coconut oil)
Prepare your chia “egg”. Put 1 spoon of chia seeds into a small bowl and add some hot water. Set aside - chia seeds will create a sort of gel after a couple of minutes.
Grate your zucchini(s) into a large bowl and then squeeze out as much water as humanly possible. I recommend using a cotton cloth or a very clean and very large handkerchief. It is super important to squeeze and dry the zucchini A LOT. This is the only “hard-work” step, I promise.
Blend the oats into soft oat flour and set aside into a small bowl. Blending your own oats is way better than buying oat flower! Make it fresh!
Blend the sunflower seeds into butter if possible. If not, just blend them as smooth as possible. This is also way better than buying butter. Again, make it fresh!
To intensify the carob taste, crush some coffee beans (but not your dreams!) in the mortar. This is optional.
Take a large bowl and put everything in there, except for the oat flower. That means: zucchinis, sunflower butter, carob powder, your gel-like chia egg, coconut oil and sugar, carob powder, baking soda, salt + if you wish, add some extra cinnamon, vanilla essence and the crushed coffee beans.
Stir to combine it all and THEN, when it’s fully combined, start adding the oat flower. It will absorb most of the moisture and the whole mixture will most likely become increasingly difficult to stir. That’s ok, keep it up. Unless you begin to feel too tired to continue - in which case, feel free to add some plant-based milk to help you finish the task and survive. The batter will be very thick and heavy but it should still look moist.
Pour it all into your tray, make it nice and even, and, with love, smash it in the oven for 30 min. Remember, if you are using a ceramic tray, you need to add 5-10 more minutes to this time, or pre-heat the tray before you pour the mixture in.
Check it after 30min and, if you like, add cca 5 min for extra crunchy edges. Take it out and let it cool a bit.
ENJOY and send me a thank-you card. Message is fine, too.
