Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan) and line a small brownie tin with baking paper.
Stone the Medjool dates, soak them briefly in warm water and blend to a smooth, sticky paste. Gently melt the coconut oil and roughly chop the dark chocolate and walnuts.
Stir the date paste, almond flour, cocoa powder, eggs, coconut oil, baking powder, vanilla extract and sea salt together to an even batter. Then fold in the dark chocolate and some of the walnuts.
Pour the batter into the tin, smooth the top and scatter over the remaining walnuts. Press them in lightly so they stick during baking.
Bake the brownies at 180 °C for 18–20 min until the top is firm and the centre still looks slightly moist. Then leave them to cool completely in the tin so the texture stays nicely dense and soft.
Cut the brownies into pieces and serve on their own or with a coffee.
Good to know
These brownies are dense, moist and pleasantly chocolatey. The sweetness comes mainly from dates, and the centre stays nice and soft. Just right when you like things simple and honestly good.
Swaps
Walnuts → pecans (similarly nutty, a little milder in flavour). Almond flour → ground hazelnuts (also provide unsaturated fats). Coconut oil → ghee (stable for baking, stronger flavour; contains milk). Dark chocolate → cacao nibs (less sweet, purer cocoa flavour).
Allergens
Contains eggs, almonds and walnuts (tree nuts), and depending on the chocolate may contain traces of other nuts. For children, better in small portions because of the cocoa and firm nut pieces; in pregnancy, generally fine as long as the eggs are baked through.
