Dark chocolate brownie - a grain-free recipe

I've discovered a wonderful NZ online provider of specialty health foods, called Food Compass.

If you're having trouble tracking down specialty ingredients for a recipe, try your luck at Food Compass. You can shop the specials or new arrivals, and you can even filter your searches to make them gluten-free, paleo, nut-free, etc, depending on your dietary requirements.

Food Compass recently sent me a box of goodies to experiment with, so the following is the recipe I came up with. It's an airy, grain-free, dark chocolate brownie that could also work as a gluten-free cake if baked in a cake tin.

If you're after a denser chocolate brownie, try adding 1/2 cup - 1 cup of dark chocolate chunks, although this would increase the sugar content, which I've kept low by using dates and coconut nectar instead of sugar to sweeten.

*Update, the brownie does become denser as it cools. I think it's even nicer after 24 hours.

Ingredients

• 10 dates
• 1/2 cup water
• 130g cocoa butter or cacao butter
• 1t coconut nectar / golden syrup
• 1t vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup almond flour (or almond meal or ground almonds)
• 1/2t baking soda
• 3 eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
2. Place dates, water, cocoa butter, coconut nectar and vanilla essence in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the dates have softened enough to mash and the cocoa butter has melted.
3. Tip contents from saucepan into a food processor and whiz on high speed until smooth.
4. Add cocoa powder, almond flour and baking soda to the food processor and mix on a medium speed until incorporated.
5. Add the eggs, one by one, mixing after each addition until incorporated.
6. Pour batter into a greased baking dish and spread to edges.
7. Bake at 180°C / 350°F for 18 - 22 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Slice into rectangles and serve warm or cold with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or Greek yoghurt. 

This recipe makes 15 pieces and freezes well. It's a perfect Thermomix recipe, as the dates and cocoa butter can be melted directly in the Thermomix bowl, saving on dishes.