Chocolate bean brownies

Ingredients

• 400g tin butter beans, rinsed and drained
• 250g apple sauce or 5 apples
• 200g rice flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 3 tbsp 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/Gas mark 4 and lightly grease a 26 x 18 cm baking tray.

Peel and core the apples if not using ready made apple sauce. Roughly chop them and place in a saucepan with 2tbsp 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 apple 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

Nutritional value

222 calories per portion

This recipe has been developed using mood-boosting foods to help you eat your way to happiness. Incorporating protein and healthy complex carbohydrates found in the butter beans into your diet can help to nourish your body and balance your hormones to keep you in a better mood. 

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

This recipe was created for Tilda by Dr Sarah Schenker.