From everything that I've heard, the second year of nursing school is the hardest year, and from everything that my sister Hannah tells me, it seems this might be true. Endless papers, journal entries, working at the hospital, and long days memorizing the most complex words. After hours of studying there is nothing more that Hannah wants than some cuddles with her cat, Elise, and a cup of tea (Valerian is her new favourite). And like the good sister that I am, I like to have something for her to look forward to eating on her study breaks. Since the last bar I made with Hannah in mind (the Caramel Chocolate Bar) was such a hit, I decided to make something along the same lines - chocolatey, raw, healthy, yet totally delicious- and according to Hannah, I have succeeded with this new batch. Introducing the Raw Chocolate Brownie and happy studying!
While I left these brownies plain, they can easily be jazzed up. The addition of dried fruit, flavouring, or nuts would make them even more spectacular.Possible add-ins include:
½ Cup Almonds, walnuts, or chopped nuts of choice.
½ Cup Dried fruit such as goji, dried blueberries, cherries, or cranberries
¼ Cup hemp hearts or dried coconut
Lemon or Orange Zest
A pinch or two of chili powder or cinnamon
1 teaspoon of Peppermint extract or any other extract of choice
Sea salt to garnish
Basic Raw Brownie
Recipe: (Serves 8-12) Print it Here
Base:
1 Cup almonds
1 ½ Cups pitted dates
¼ Cup raw cocoa
1 tablespoon Coconut oil
1 teaspoon Vanilla
½ teaspoon Sea salt
Procedure:
Puree all ingredients in a food processor until the mixture comes together. You may need to add 1 teaspoon of water or so to make the mixture come together better. If adding extract, add and pulse to combine. If adding nuts, etc, mix in by hand. Press the base into a lined loaf pan (9 by 5), using the back of a spoon to make it nice and smooth.
Ice with the icing listed below ( my new favourite icing, I used it on this cake) and set in the refrigerator to chill. Once set slice into either 8 or 12 servings. Store in the refrigerator.
Icing:
1 Cup dates, soaked for 30 min
¼ Cup raw cocoa powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
4- 6 tablespoon reserved soaking water from dates
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Pinch of Sea salt
Procedure:
Soak dates in hot water for 30 minutes. After they have become soft, drain the dates but keep the soaking water. Combine the dates, cocoa powder, coconut oil, salt, and 4 tablespoon of the soaking liquid in a blender. Puree until the mixture is silky smooth, this may take some time. Add more soaking liquid as needed to achieved a spreadable filling. I used about 6 tablespoon but you may need more of less. I wouldn't recommend using more than 8 tablespoon as that might make the icing too runny.
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Awesome! I'm so happy you enjoyed them! Hooray for easy desserts 🙂
Anonymous says
So delicious and yet so easy to make. They looked just like the picture. Thanks Sophie.
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
That would be good as mousse! So happy you're enjoying them 🙂
Anonymous says
These are so delicious. I can't help thinking with every bite, that the 'icing' would be delicious on its own as a chocolate mousse....it is so fluffy and perfect!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Hello Katie,
I am thrilled you liked the recipe! And I am secretly very pleased it was your favourite raw brownie recipe (yay !!!) I know, who would of thought that dates and nuts could make a super dense fudgy brownie? Well, I'm just so glad they do! Thanks for the lovely feedback, it was a delight to hear from you. All the best, Sophie
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Hello Katie,
I am thrilled you liked the recipe! And I am secretly very pleased it was your favourite raw brownie recipe (yay !!!) I know, who would of thought that dates and nuts could make a super dense fudgy brownie? Well, I'm just so glad they do! Thanks for the lovely feedback, it was a delight to hear from you. All the best, Sophie
Katie G says
Hi Sophie,
I made these last night and they where incredible - I made half the mix as it's only myself that eat's raw (I'm not sad about this) and I was in heaven! I'd had the recipe pinned for a while and this was the third recipe I'd tried for raw brownies and by far my favorite. The experience was similar to eating a 600-700 calorie loaded with fat, butter and cream chocolate torte but without ANY of the terrible side effects.
Many thanks for posting and I can't wait to try other recipes from your lovely blog!
Katie G says
Hi Sophie,
I made these last night and they where incredible - I made half the mix as it's only myself that eat's raw (I'm not sad about this) and I was in heaven! I'd had the recipe pinned for a while and this was the third recipe I'd tried for raw brownies and by far my favorite. The experience was similar to eating a 600-700 calorie loaded with fat, butter and cream chocolate torte but without ANY of the terrible side effects.
Many thanks for posting and I can't wait to try other recipes from your lovely blog!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank-you so much! My boyfriend also doesn't like it when I sneak avocado in his chocolate pudding 🙂
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank-you so much! My boyfriend also doesn't like it when I sneak avocado in his chocolate pudding 🙂
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Yay!!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Yay!!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you so much, Kristin!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you so much, Kristin!
thejollybeetroot says
Cant wait to try these out on my brownie-loving boyfriend! He loves everything sweet and chocolatey but has become a bit skeptical since he found out I put avocado in his favourite chocolate mousse 😛 Beautiful pictures as well by the way x
thejollybeetroot says
Cant wait to try these out on my brownie-loving boyfriend! He loves everything sweet and chocolatey but has become a bit skeptical since he found out I put avocado in his favourite chocolate mousse 😛 Beautiful pictures as well by the way x
Developing My Raw Kitchen says
Looks amazing. I will be making these tomorrow. Thank you.
Developing My Raw Kitchen says
Looks amazing. I will be making these tomorrow. Thank you.
KristinHoltPhotography says
Looks amazing! Beautiful images.
Thank you for all that you do!
Pinned!
K-
KristinHoltPhotography says
Looks amazing! Beautiful images.
Thank you for all that you do!
Pinned!
K-
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you, Rose!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you, Rose!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you so much, Karen. And thanks for noticing the coconut oil - that's a mistake, it's only supposed to be 1 Tbsp of oil. I updated the post, so the the recipe is now complete. -Sophie <3
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you so much, Karen. And thanks for noticing the coconut oil - that's a mistake, it's only supposed to be 1 Tbsp of oil. I updated the post, so the the recipe is now complete. -Sophie <3
Anonymous says
Sophie, what a beautiful brownie and recipe; thank you!! In the base you have 1 Tablespoon coconut oil listed twice. Could you tell me why? Karen
Anonymous says
Sophie, what a beautiful brownie and recipe; thank you!! In the base you have 1 Tablespoon coconut oil listed twice. Could you tell me why? Karen
Rose says
Everything I love! Great blog, I'm now following you 🙂
Rose says
Everything I love! Great blog, I'm now following you 🙂