Chocolate bean brownie recipe

This delicious guilt-free chocolate bean brownie recipe uses butter beans to provide protein and healthy complex carbohydrates, which help to nourish your body and balance your hormones, keeping you in a better mood. If ever there was a good reason to tuck into a brownie…

Serves 12

Ingredients:

400g tin butter beans, rinsed and drained

250g apple sauce (or 5 apples)

200g rice flour

2tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

3tbsp cocoa powder

3 eggs

75g coconut sugar (or caster sugar)

Few drops of vanilla essence

100g pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4, and lightly grease a 26x18cm

baking tray.

Peel and core the apples (if not using ready made apple sauce). Roughly chop them and place in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water. Cook for five minutes until they start to soften, and then gently crush with a wooden spoon until they form a puree. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Place the beans and a splash of water in a food processor and whizz together until smooth – you are looking for the consistency of mashed potato. Add more water if the mixture looks too dry. Add the apple sauce or puree and process again for a minute or two, until smooth and well combined

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with an electric whisk, add the sugar in three to four batches, beating well after each addition. Add one-third of the bean mixture to the egg mixture together with one-third of the flour mixture and fold in carefully. Repeat twice more until all the ingredients are gently incorporated.

Add the vanilla essence and pecan nuts and gently fold through. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes – check to see if the brownie is done by inserting a skewer into the middle – it should come out clean.

Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

To find out more about how the food you eat can affect your mood and to

download a handy seven-day meal planner, including recipes, visit tilda.com.