Chocolate brownies (GF, DF, vegan)

These are easy to make, and don’t worry, the courgettes disappear completely into the brownies, honestly! They add nutrients and fibre, helping to slow down the release of the sugars into the bloodstream, mitigating those blood sugar spikes and troughs. They also bring a lovely moisture, a bit like carrots in carrot cake. Bulking cakes up with whole foods, rather than a refined flour, helps them to feel less processed and easier on the stomach.

Bear in mind that cocoa powder is fairly high in histamine and can also upset the gut for some people, particularly for those with Crohn’s or colitis.

Ingredients

2 courgettes

180g chocolate buttons

75g self raising flour

45g cocoa powder

180g plant butter (eg Naturli)

100g unrefined caster sugar

3 eggs or 3 tbsp chia seeds (soaked for 10 mins in 6 tbsp water and blended)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees fan. Line a baking tray (20cm by 20cm) with baking paper.

Grate 200g of courgette and set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate buttons. Leave to melt.

Sift the flour and cocoa into a bowl and mix with a pinch of salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs (or soaked and blended chia seeds liquid mix) and sugar together.

Make sure the chocolate buttons have melted and mix them evenly into the butter, then add to the eggs and sugar mixture.

Stir in the grated courgette, flour and cocoa and fold together gently.

Transfer to the baking tray and level out to an even layer. Bake for 25-30 mins. Leave to cool.

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