Fudgey brownie, sweet chunks of pear and a cashew swirl with a hint of ginger. This delicious whole foods treat is vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free.
1cupraw cashews, (soaked in water for four hours or overnight)
2tbspagave syrup, or maple syrup
1tspvanilla paste, or natural vanilla extract
1/4cupwater, approximately
1-2tspground ginger, to taste
Pinch salt
For the brownie:
3tbspground flaxseed, (buy it pre-ground or make your own in a high speed blender or coffee grinder)
1cupoat flour, (buy it pre-ground or make your own by grinding oats in a high speed blender, check label if gluten free)
1/2cupground almonds, almond meal
1/2cupcocoa
1tspbaking powder, check label if gluten free
Pinch of salt
3/4cupmilk of your choice, (I used soy, almond would also work well)
1/4cup+ 2 tbsp agave syrup, or maple syrup
1/4cupcoconut oil, melted if solid
1tspinstant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water
1tspvanilla paste, or natural vanilla extract
1-2pears, peeled, cored and sliced
Instructions
For the cashew cream:
Put cashews, agave syrup, vanilla paste and a pinch of salt into a food processor or high speed blender. While blending, slowly pour in water until you reach a smooth and creamy consistency - a similar thickness to hummus. Add ground ginger to taste and blend to combine.
Set aside until needed.
For the brownie:
Mix 3 tbsp of ground flaxseed with 6 tbsp of water and set aside for about 15 minutes. It will become thick and gel-like. This mixture is the equivalent of three 'flax eggs' and will act as an egg replacer in the brownie batter.
Preheat oven to 200C (390F) and grease and line a rectangular baking dish.
Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl: oat flour, ground almonds, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Beat until the mixture is smooth and well combined. If it seems too thick, add 1-2 tbsp more milk.
Pour batter into the pre-prepared baking dish.
Spoon large dollops of cashew cream onto the brownie batter, then use a butter knife to swirl it through. There's no right way to do this, just make it look pretty and don't overdo it - you want large pockets of cashew cream to remain.
Arrange slices of pear evenly over the top of the brownie and push in to the batter a little.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Once done, the brownie will pull away from the sides of the pan a little and look 'cooked', but a skewer will not come out clean. You want the middle to still be a bit fudgey.
Allow brownie to cool in the tin completely before removing, slicing and storing in the refrigerator.