By Nicole English

I’ve made a few variations on the vegan brownie over the years but this far exceeds the lot.

It may be the richness

• The texture

• The sweetness

• The fudge factor (it’s a thing)

• It may just be the chocolate icing

OMG the icing!!

Whatever it is – it is definitely worth making…

Let’s get down to business!

Ingredients – Brownies

• 1 cup of walnuts (pecans will work well as an alternative)

• 1 cup of almonds

• 2 cups of soft pitted dates

• 2/3 cup of raw cacao powder

• 3 T of raw cacao nibs (or 1 cup of vegan chocolate chunks)

• 1 t of organic ground cinnamon

• 1 t of organi1 T of waterc ground cinnamon

• Pinch of sea salt

Pinch of sea salt

• Add the almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, salt and cacao powder to a food processor

• Process until it is broken into little bits

• Next slowly add the cacao nibs and then the dates 1 at a time

• Once the mixture is starting to stick together, add the water

• Remove from the food processor and use your hands to press the mixture into a lined 9 inch baking tray

• If you want thicker brownies, use a smaller baking tin. At this stage you could also press some extra chopped walnuts or pecans onto the mixture

• Place the brownies into the freezer to set for 20 minutes

Ingredients – Chocolate Icing

• 1 cup of pitted dates

• 1/4 cup of coconut oil

• 1/4 cup of raw cacao powder

• 1/4 cup of raw cacao powder

• 3/4 cup of water

• 1 t of pure vanilla essence

Method

• Put everything into a blender on medium until it is completely smooth and creamy

• Take the brownies from the freezer and cut into squares (around 12). Spread generous amounts of icing onto your brownies and top it off with some extra walnuts and/or nibs.

If you don’t end up eating all of your brownies in 1 day (it is possible……apparently) then store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.

The leftover icing will be good in the fridge for 4-5 days and is great spread on sliced fruit i.e. bananas, apples and oranges.