United Cakedom: coconut sugar

When I was offered to review Superfoods 24/7: Delicious Recipes for Superfoods at Every Meal I said "No thank you." Mainly because I was judging it by it's cover and didn't think it would be a good fit for my blog.

The lovely publisher's PR lady suggested I take a look anyway because she really felt it would be a good fit, especially if I liked Whole Food Energy. So, I agreed and I'm glad I did.

Starting with all the facts on the superfoods as well as giving some basic skill information, the author Jessica Nadel, gives us suggested meal plans consisting of breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert.

We are then given mouth watering recipes for Smoothies and Breakfasts, Salads and Soups, Sides and Small Bites, Main Meals, followed by Cakes and Desserts which I have to say has many tempting recipes! I'm not going to lie I went straight to that last chapter before reading the others. I knew pretty much right away I wanted to try the Adzuki Bean Brownies.

There was a little research involved because I couldn't find adzuki beans and realised they are the same as aduki beans which I could find. The brownies turned out really fudgey and as it uses coconut oil and cinnamon taste of coconut and a hint of cinnamon. In my opinion that's a good thing. I was a little dubious using flaxseed "eggs," but I didn't need to worry.

The only thing I had to adjust was the cooking time. It says to bake for 10-12 minutes, but after 12 minutes they were still very much a liquid. The edges had barely started to bake. So, I left them in for another 12 minutes before taking them out and leaving to cool. They were still so gooey they couldn't be put on a cooling rack, so I placed them on a plate and put it in the fridge to cool. Also you might want to make the Flax Egg before starting with everything else.

Aduki Bean Brownie Bites

1x400g or 410g can of aduki beans, drained and rinsed

40g cocoa powder

25g ground walnuts

60ml coconut oil, melted

100g coconut sugar

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 flax eggs (see below)

Heat the oven to 180C - very lightly grease a 24-hole mini cupcake pan. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse for about 2 minutes until everything is combined and smooth. Scrape down the bowl when necessary. Each 'hole' will take a heaped tablespoon of batter. Bake for 12-24 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a plate and putting them in the fridge to cool.

Flax Egg: for 2 eggs as there recipe calls for

2 tablespoons of ground or milled flaxseed

6 tablespoons of water

Mix together and leave to stand for a minimum of 10 minutes. The mixture should go gloopy like an egg. Give it a stir before adding to the food processor.

Before I go here are 4 recipes I can't wait to try out:

Udon Soup with Broccoli, Kale, and Sweet Potato

Quinoa Sushi Hand Rolls

Sundried Tomato and Coconut Quinoa Burgers

Minty Matcha Nanaimo Bars

notes: Superfoods 24/7: Delicious Recipes for Superfoods at Every Meal by Jessica Nadel was sent to me to review by the UK publishers; Apple Press - Available online, from the publishers, and from all good booksellers now! No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own please see my contact/policy page for more information.

With a title like that you may be thinking that these brownies are made with gold or silver. Close, but no they are made with raw coconut oil, coconut sugar, ground almonds, and avocado.

All those ingredients are a little on the pricey side. Now before I made these I had a few questions.

First, do I spend the extra money on trying them out? Second, will they be as good as promised therefore making them worth the effort and the money? And third, what the heck is coconut oil?

The answers? Clearly I decided that I would dish out the cash to try them out and yes they are as good as promised and worth the effort and money. And coconut oil is a substance that has many uses. You can eat it, but it’s also a great way to keep your hair and skin healthy. Apparently. Who knew, right?

The brownies are expensive to make therefore I wouldn't be making these everyday however for a special almost healthy treat I would totally make these again. They are also a great way for those who gluten intolerant. To make it dairy free use dairy free dark chocolate!

Expensive Brownies:

100g coconut oil

300g dark chocolate

290g coconut sugar/nectar

100g ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder

1 avocado, smooshed

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

Heat the oven to 180C and line an 8 in/20 cm square pan with greaseproof paper. Melt the coconut oil and chocolate together in a large saucepan. Take it off the heat and allow to cool slightly before adding in the rest of the ingredients. It does make it easier if you gently beat the eggs and vanilla together before adding in. Fold it all together until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 26-30 minutes. The less you cook them the gooeier they are and the more you cook them the more cake like they are. These need to be cooked for a minimum of 26 minutes. The top should have a nice shine, but it will be a bit wobbly if shook. If you cook it for a little longer then it won’t be noticeably wobbly. Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving up! You could top with yogurt, fruit, ice cream, crème fraiche, whipped cream, or a drizzle of caramel sauce?

notes: recipe adapted from Love, Tanya by Tanya Burr. Please see previous post for the book review! I am complaining about the cost, it's just not every day I fork out 6 GBP for 1 ingredient (coconut oil) and the other ingredients aren't necessarily cheap either. Therefore these are the most expensive brownies I have every made!