Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan) and line a small tin with baking paper.
Rinse the black beans well and put them in a food processor with the cocoa powder, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, baking powder, oats and salt.
Blend everything thoroughly until the batter is smooth and no pieces of bean are left.
Roughly chop the chocolate and fold it into the batter. Pour the batter into the tin and smooth it out.
Bake the brownie for 20–25 min, until the top is firm and the centre still looks slightly moist. Leave it to cool completely in the tin.
Cut into pieces and serve. Once cooled, the brownies turn firmer and fudgier.
Good to know
These brownies are dense, moist and pleasantly chocolatey. You can hardly taste the beans, but they give the batter just the right texture. An easy recipe for days when things need to be quick.
Swaps
Maple syrup → date paste (more fibre, less free sugar) | coconut oil → mild olive oil (more monounsaturated fatty acids) | oats → ground almonds (more vitamin E, fewer carbs) | dark chocolate → cacao nibs (usually less sugar, more intense cocoa flavour)
Allergens
Contains gluten (oats) unless the oats are certified gluten-free and, depending on the chocolate, may contain traces of milk or nuts; well suited to children in small pieces, and fine during pregnancy as long as all the ingredients are fresh and handled cleanly. Contains: gluten (oats).
