Don't know about you but most days, we're definitely in need of some sort of pick me up by 4pm - this brownie seems to be the answer: dessert + caffeine boost! And by the way, this sugar free icing is a revelation!
Thank you to our friends at Cru Kafe who have kindly shared this afternoon treat with us. Cru was founded in 2013 by 3 friends wanting a more delicious, more ethical and better tasting pod to put in their Nespresso machine. We must confess to have been buying supermarket own pods for our coffee machine before we discovered these guys... very happy to be welcoming them in February so you can try it for yourself!
We all know that coffee has its pros and cons and should be drunk in moderation, but it also provides the biggest form of antioxidants in the western diet and apparently studies show that coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of several serious diseases.
Pass us a brownie ...
RAW COFFEE BROWNIES
Makes: 8 brownies
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
200g Hazelnuts
100g ground almonds
50g Hazelnuts
50g Macadamia nuts
300g Dates
50g Cacao nibs
2 shots of Intense CRU Kafe organic espresso
Frosting
200g Chocolate chips
350g Firm tofu
2 tbsp Coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp Coffee liqueur
1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
Sprinkle of Macadamia and Hazelnuts crushed
Method
- Blitz the 150g Hazelnuts, with the dates, cacao, almonds and 2 shots of CRU Kafe organic espresso. Once blitzed into a paste add the remaining hazelnuts and macadamia nuts and blitz until chunky and incorporated. Note: Keep 3 of each nut back to crush and garnish with later.
- Line a baking tin with parchment paper and empty in your mixture, then place in the fridge to set for half an hour.
- Place the firm tofu, coffee liqueur, coconut oil and vanilla into a blender and blitz. Melt the chocolate and then add it into these ingredients while blitzing some more.
- Place the frosting on the brownies and smooth. Then return to the fridge for twenty minutes.
- Portion and then garnish with the remaining nuts.