Chocolate pumpkin brownie slices

Craziness going on here... I just realised I haven't posted these brownie slices yet!

I made them weeks and weeks ago...as in around the time of thanksgiving and pumpkin overload. I think at the time I felt I had already posted so many pumpkin recipes and there were so many other similar recipes in the recipe world that I held off a little...then forgot!

pumpkin brownies 2a.jpg

This is basically a twist on the chocolate courgette cake (mmmm, still love that beauty!) and just goes to show the veggie component is pretty versatile. I reckon cauliflower would also work (don't think i've tried that one yet though) and what about sweet potato, pureed carrot or parsnip? Some may give a slight flavour variation- but chocolate covers and compliments pretty much everything, so feel free to play around with your taste buds to find combos that you love!

 One thing to note, I tried making this with cooked, pureed fresh pumpkin (I bought a glut of pumpkins after halloweeen and froze them in chunks!) and also at another time with regular canned pumpkin. I actually preferred the fresh cooked version- not sure why that is as I can't see there would be much difference, but i could definitely taste a slight underlying pumpkin taste with the canned whereas i couldn't at all with the other- that was just my taste preference.

pumpkin brownies 5a.jpg

Makes 1 8” round or square cake

ingredients: 

  • 1 cup packed dates

  • approx ½ tsp pure stevia

  • 1 ½ cup pureed pumpkin (fresh cooked or canned- see note)

  • 2/3 cup water (if your dates are hard soak them in this water prior to blending)

  • 1/3 cup oil of choice (I use coconut)

  • ¼ cup flax seed

  • 1 cup cocoa powder

  • 1 ½ cup oat flour (I ground some regular porridge oats)

  • 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 tsp mixed spice

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • 1 heaped tsp baking powder

  • 1 heaped tsp baking soda

  • handful of walnuts or pecans for toppping

Method:

Blend the pumpkin with the dates and all the wet ingredients and the flax seed to form a smooth fairly runny paste. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and then add the wet. Mix lightly but well to form a thick soft batter. Add a little extra water if necessary.

Spoon the batter into a lined/greased muffin pan or round cake tin (you could also make cupcakes?) and smooth the top as best you can.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for approx 20-25 minutes, you may need to lightly cover the top of the pan with foil  for the final 5 mins to prevent the top browning before the centre is cooked through.

Allow to cool before slicing. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week…these taste even better the next day!

pumpkin brownies 1a.jpg
pumpkin brownies 4a.jpg

I'd love you to join me in other places too!  

Why not sign up for emails in my sidebar where I feature roundups and special offers. If you are new round here check out my 'About' and 'Getting Started' tabs up top. To buy nibbles you can also find me over at Wholeplus.  Day to day you can also find me in these places:

 

Previous
Previous

Silent Sunday no. 105

Next
Next

Granola-cookie breakfast clusters (gf)