Chilli chocolate & black bean brownies

Chilli chocolate & black bean brownies

By Sara Buenfeld
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(14 ratings)
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Prep: 20 mins Cook: 25 mins - 30 mins plus cooling

Easy

Makes 16-20
Black beans replace the flour in these gluten-free, fudgy and intensely chocolatey treats with a subtle tingle of chilli

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable
  • Gluten-free

Nutrition: per brownie (20)

  • kcal202
  • fat13g
  • saturates7g
  • carbs15g
  • sugars11g
  • fibre3g
  • protein5g
  • salt0.6g
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Ingredients

  • sunflower oil, for greasing
    Sunflower oil

    Sunflower oil

    Sunflower oil is made from pressing sunflower seeds and extracting the oil. It's usually…

  • 2 x 400g cans black beans, drained
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 6 large eggs
    Eggs

    Egg

    egg

    The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition packed with protein and a…

  • 200g soft butter, chopped
    Butter

    Butter

    butt-err

    Butter is a dairy product made from separating whole milk or cream into fat and…

  • 200g light muscovado sugar
  • 100g cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
  • 85g chilli-flavoured chocolate (or plain chocolate), chopped into chunks

    Chocolate ganache

    gan-ash

    Chocolate ganache is a combination of chocolate and double cream. It's simple to…

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly grease a 20 x 30cm brownie tin and line with baking parchment. Blitz the beans and vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 eggs with a stick blender until completely smooth.

  2. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl with the cocoa and remaining eggs, and beat with an electric whisk until creamy. Start off slowly, then increase the speed as you mix (so you don’t get covered with cocoa!). Beat in the baking powder, then stir in the bean mixture and fold in the chocolate chunks.

  3. Scrape the mixture into the tin with a spatula, level it and bake for 25 mins until firm to the touch. Leave to cool, then cut into squares. Will keep for a few days in a tin at room temperature, and 1 week in the fridge.

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Comments, questions and tips

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anne55
4th Jul, 2020
5.05
Just made these because of the good reviews and they are amazing. They are so light and have a lovely chocolate brownie flavour with no taste of the beans. Definitely will make again.
Bluebell63
26th Apr, 2020
4.05
Good texture and tasty. You wouldn't know it is made with black beans. Needs longer cooking than 25 mins, at least another 10 - 15 mins.
mattrixwhiting's picture
mattrixwhiting
6th Jan, 2020
5.05
These turned out great for me. Intensely chocolatey, very dark, quite filling but surprisingly good. I would never have know there were beans in them. Currently, I am mixing everything by hand, so mashing the beans took a while, but otherwise very easy to make. I gave mine 5 minutes extra (total 30 minutes) and they came out perfect.
newcastleunited
13th Feb, 2019
2.05
Needs almost double the cooking time. I would give this recipe 4 for taste and texture but the inaccurate instructions reduce the stars. Certainly not easy for an inexperienced cook.Good as a warm pud but certainly nothing like the fudgy brownie promised . Mushing up the beans much more efficiently and cleanly done with a food processor or blender. Pleasant enough but rather expensive to make.
newcastleunited
13th Feb, 2019
2.05
I would give this recipe full marks for taste and texture BUT the cooking time and possibly the temp are wildly incorrect. Cooking time is nearer 40-45 mins than 25. Luckily I am experienced at baking and rescued the expensive ingredients but an inexperienced cook would get very unnerved and have a possible pricy disaster on their hands. From that point if view this recipe is NOT easy. About time the BBC rewrote this recipe.
TinheadNed
8th Jul, 2018
3.05
This takes much much longer to cook than 25 minutes. Doesn't taste of beans but does need pairing with a strong flavour.
Patslass
13th Jan, 2017
4.05
Enjoyable twist on brownies and a pleasure to make. Thank you! I added a cup of chopped pecans and also 1 tsp of paprika (to heighten the chili flavour).
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Minoo
2nd May, 2016
These taste nice, but sadly not as nice as a brownie containing gluten :( It does taste a bit like bean and the texture is a bit more grainy than normal brownies. But saying that, we are still happy to eat them! Would make again if I was catering for someone avoiding gluten.
gooseberrycrumble
14th Jun, 2015
4.05
Cooked this for 15mins longer than suggested because very wobbly under firm top. Also, you need a very high-sided bowl for blitzing the beans... I ended up decorating myself and the walls in black bean slosh! Taste OK though. Quite rich.
trulyscrumptious6
9th Jun, 2015
5.05
Doesn't taste of beans at all! These went down a treat, I made them for a dinner party and everyone loved them. I made these dairy free too by using dairy free spread and dairy free chocolate, as a friend is dairy intolerant. Will be making them again soon :)
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marshmallow mia's picture
marshmallow mia
2nd Mar, 2018
5.05
Came out absolutely delicious! Will be making again. Any beans will work - I used cannellini.
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