Sweet Potato Brownies (grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)
THE NEW BROWNIES ON THE BLOCK
Caution – You are about to experience the most amazing chocolate brownies in the world. They are absolutely delicious, healthy and totally addictive. You have been warned.
This very healthy brownie recipe is full of rich chocolatey flavor, as well as important nutrients. It’s completely grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free. And yes, one of the secret ingredients of this yummy recipe is the sweet potato.
Just one bite and you’ll never want to eat another chocolate brownie.
I hope that you love this recipe as much as I do! xo
THE RECIPE
Ingredients (brownie):
-2 medium sweet potatoes (enough to fill 1 cup)
-1 cup cacao powder (raw cocoa powder)
-1/4 cup almond flour
-1/8 cup coconut flour
-1/2 cup cold-pressed coconut oil
-3 large free-ranged eggs
-14 fresh medjool dates
-8 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
-2 teaspoons ground vanilla powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-pinch of sea salt
Ingredients (icing):
-1/4 cup cacao powder (raw cocoa powder)
-1/4 cup cold-pressed coconut oil
-3 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
-1 teaspoon ground vanilla powder
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
-pinch of sea salt
THE METHOD
Instructions (brownie):
-roast the sweet potatoes by wrapping them in aliminium foil and baking them in the oven for 60 minutes (or until really soft and starting to caramelize) at 180 degree’s Celsius (360 F)
-once fully roasted, remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and the foil (when cool enough to handle)
-after leaving them to cool for a few minutes, remove the skin by gently peeling it off
-mash the roasted sweet potato with the back of a fork until completely smooth and measure out 1 full cup (discard any excess)
-soak the fresh medjool dates in warm water for 30 minutes
-once soaked, remove the dates from the water and then remove the pits and any stalks that may still be attached
-melt the coconut oil by pouring boiling water into a large bowl and a placing smaller bowl into the water (without burning your hands or getting water into the small bowl), then place the coconut oil into the small bowl and wait for it to melt
-if you have a food processor or a high powered blender, add the roasted sweet potatoes, the soaked dates and the melted coconut oil to your mixer with all of the other ingredients and blend until smooth/ if you do not have a food processor or blender follow the rest of the instructions
-finely chop the soaked dates into small pieces and then mash with the back of a fork until it forms a sticky and smooth paste
-mix the eggs, the sweet potato, the maple syrup and the dates together in a bowl until smooth
-in a separate bowl sieve the cacao powder so that there are no lumps
-mix the cacao powder with the coconut flour, almond flour, vanilla powder, cinnamon and sea salt
-now mix all of the ingredients together in one bowl and add the melted coconut oil
-mix until completely blended and smooth
-grease a glass/ brownie dish with some extra coconut oil and fill the dish with the brownie batter
-even out and smooth the top of the batter with the back of a spoon
-bake in a preheated oven (180 C/ 360 F) for 30 minutes
-once cooked, remove from oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before you add the icing
♥
Instructions (icing):
-melt the coconut oil by pouring boiling water into a large bowl and a placing smaller bowl into the water (without burning your hands or getting water into the small bowl), then place the coconut oil into the small bowl and wait for it to melt
-sieve the cacao powder so that there are no lumps
-mix the melted coconut oil together with the cacao powder, vanilla powder, cinnamon, sea salt and maple syrup
-mix until well blended
-pour over baked brownies (15-20 minutes after they have been removed from the oven)
TO SERVE
Serving instructions:
Eat now – once the icing has been poured over the brownies, leave the brownies in the baking dish for another 15-30 minutes before sprinkling with cacao powder (optional), slicing and serving
Eat later – once the icing has been poured over the brownies, leave the brownies in the baking dish for another 15-30 minutes, then place in the fridge to set for 1-3 hours before sprinkling with cacao powder (optional), slicing and serving
Made with love by Liezl Jayne xo
Photos by Liezl Jayne for liezljayne.com
Hi.. These brownies sound really good. However, I can’t eat almonds or nuts. Is there something I could use to replace the almond flour? I can’t ea seeds either. Covonut is fine. Thanks
Hey Linda! All flours – nut flours, coconut flour and grain flours all have different properties and therefore work differently for each recipe. Therefore it can sometimes be difficult to find the right substitute that works for you! If you can’t eat nuts, I would recommend leaving out the 1/4 cup of almond flour and using 1/4 cup of coconut flour instead of 1/8 cup of coconut flour. Coconut flour does absorb quite a lot of moisture though (almond flour does not) and so they might turn out a little drier. BUT because this recipe contains sweet potato and medjool dates I think that these ingredients should counteract too much dryness and the recipe should still work.
Just to recap: leave out the 1/4 cup almond flour and use 1/4 cup coconut flour instead of 1/8 cup coconut flour
I hope that this helps you! Let me know how they turn out! 🙂
Enjoy baking!
Hi, would it make a difference if I used only one type of lour? Like all almond, or all coconut? (For this and any of your recipes). I’m really excited to try it, but it’s rather expensive in my country to buy both kinds! Thank you!
I meant flour* 🙂
Hi Karina! Great question, these flours can be expensive but you can try ordering them online as it might be more affordable. If not, I have some recommendations for you!
I use coconut flour for a binding agent in this recipe and if you use too much the recipe can become dry.
Almond flour is completely different and will not really bind the ingredients together.
For this recipe, I would rather use almond flour than coconut flour (but both preferably). You can try using an additional 1/8 cup almond flour plus 2 or 3 teaspoons of ground chia seeds instead of 1/8 cup coconut flour. Chia seeds are also great for binding!
For my other recipes, I would need to recommend changes (regarding almond flour and coconut flour) for each one specifically as each recipe is unique and I generally use the different flours for specific purposes. Please comment on any recipes that you would like recommendations on for altering the recipes, I would be happy to help!
I hope that you find this helpful, enjoy the brownies! 🙂
Can liquid vanilla be used in place of vanilla powder? Looks amazing. Thank you!
Hi Jacque. Yes liquid vanilla can be used instead of the powder, I prefer to use vanilla in it’s pure form (simply dried and ground) but it can be difficult to find in some parts of the world. Pure vanilla paste might be easier to find (this is pure ground vanilla).
If you are going to use a liquid vanilla, I would recommend using a liquid vanilla that is as natural as possible without any added sugar, flavor or preservatives or any other unnecessary additive.
You can use the same amount of liquid vanilla as you would use the ground vanilla powder: 2 teaspoons in the brownie mix and 1 teaspoon in the icing mix.
Enjoy making the brownies!!!