Chocolate & Medjool Date Brownies

It may seem to some a strange time to post something as fickle as a recipe right now, I wanted to maintain some sense of normality to life. While many of us (me included) are overwhelmed at the prospect of what the future holds, I wanted to look to something positive to keep me going- Ramadan!

Now more than ever, is a time to remember that we are a part of and supporting the global community, which is why I always love to create recipes with medjool dates from The Date Project around this time. Each box of medjool dates are of the highest quality, ethically sourced from the Jordan Valley. Each box supports a different cause and the project is kept afloat by volunteers to reduce costs and ensure that all profits go to a worthy cause.

The special thing about these brownies is that they require no sugar, eggs or butter. The dates are very sweet and fudgy in nature which means that once cooked, the brownies hold their shape just as well as the traditional kind.

Time: 1 hour
Servings: makes 12 brownies in a 10x8 inch baking tray

Ingredients for the brownies

• 150g self raising flour

• 1tsp baking powder

• pinch of salt

• 150g (approximately 10) pitted medjool dates, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes

• 150g coconut oil (or other alternative)

• 50g cocoa powder

• 100g milk chocolate, tempered in a bowl over boiling water

Ingredients for the ganache

• 100g tempered milk chocolate

• pinch salt

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

• Any toppings you like. I’d suggest pistachios; rose petals or coconut flakes

Instructions

1. Measure out all ingredients beforehand; pit and soak medjool dates in boiling water for at least 10 minutes and soften the coconut oil at room temperature. Temper 100g chocolate in a sturdy bowl over boiling water.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F/Gas Mark 4 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

3. Drain the soaked dates and mash into a pulp by hand. Stir in the coconut oil and combine well until it becomes a paste. Fold in the tempered chocolate until the liquid has combined thoroughly.

4. In your main mixing bowl, sift flour, salt, baking soda and flour, as well as the cocoa powder. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until a fudgy batter is formed. Since this doesn’t use eggs, the batter will be more on the solid side and should hold it’s shape if you fold into a ball.

5. Flatten the batter into your tin with wet hands. This ensures a smoother top and prevents the batter from sticking to your hands.

6. Bake for up to 15 minutes max, or until you notice a slight rise and spring to the top of the brownie.

7. While the brownies are cooling, temper a second batch of chocolate, this time adding a pinch of salt and coconut oil to create a silky ganache. Alternatively, you can warm up chocolate spread!

8. Only layer the ganache on top when the brownies are cool to the touch. Wait for the ganache to harden slightly before slicing into 12 even squares. These are best served warm with rich vanilla icecream.