Hazelnut Brownies

Volunteered by Velvet Underground's Amy (Function Junction, Whistler)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup (8 teaspoons), chia seeds - blended and mixed with ⅔ cup water to make a gel

4 cups nut pulp (the pulp/meal leftover from making almond or hazelnut milk or sub almond meal for a similar result)

1 cup (100g) dutch cocoa

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

170g dark chocolate (we use East Van Couverture Dark Chocolate)

½ cup of coconut milk

125g of coconut oil (melted)

2 cups date puree (make this by soaking dried dates in warm water for half an hour or more, then blend)

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped hazelnuts

Time

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Serves

Storage

Serve the next day or keep in an airtight container

METHOD

Prep Chia-Egg. Grind the chia seeds into a meal in a blender or spice grinder. To the meal, add ⅔ cup of water, stir with a fork and set aside for 5 minutes.

Preheat. Set the oven temperature to 350°F.

Melt. In a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate and coconut oil and stir to combine.

Mix. In a large bowl, combine the chia egg and all other ingredients before adding the melted coconut oil/chocolate mixture and stir through.

Transfer. Using a spatula or back of a spoon, spread the brownie mixture evenly across a lined 13" x 9" pan (or one of similar dimensions).

Bake. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes.

Be cool. These are best left to set and fudge-up in the fridge overnight.

This delicious recipe is already 100% plant-based.
When buying dark chocolate be sure that it does not contain milk products. 70% cocoa (and higher) options are usually dairy free.

Grease the pan or use a re-usable silicone mat instead of parchment paper.Get your dry ingredients from a bulk store or bulk section of your supermarket and use your own jars and bags. Check out some of the stores in the Sea to Sky and Vancouver here.
Plant-based milks can be pre-ordered and purchased from The Velvet Underground and come in re-usable glass bottles, or even better, bring your own container for them to transfer the milk into Shop Velvet Underground Cafe
If you’re interested in making your own oat, soy or nut milks, there are recipes galore online, or you can check out Velvet Underground's YouTube video here.

Plant-based milks can be pre-ordered and purchased from The Velvet Underground and come in re-usable glass bottles, or even better, bring your own container for them to transfer the milk into Shop Velvet Underground Cafe
If you’re interested in making your own oat, soy or nut milks, there are recipes galore online, or you can check out Amy from Velvet Underground's YouTube video here. Green Moustache sell nuts, seeds and oats package-free and they have stores in Function Junction and the Village as well as Squamish.
If you're not in Whistler, Earth's Own are a Canadian brand who make plant-based milk products that are available widely throughout the country and are based in Burnaby, BC.

All of these ingredients can be bought year-round in dried/preserved forms without the need for refrigeration.

Original recipe from Amy Rafferty of the Velvet Cafe

Photos by Amy Rafferty