Ok, so, there has been a lot of stuff on the interwebs recently about "clean eating", eating a mostly plant based diet and avoiding processed food and sugar, which to some extent I buy into. We all know it's good for us to eat more veg and eat less processed food. As this blog shows I make pretty much all my food from scratch but I still have my weaknesses, I love cake and chocolate, but I also know that I cannot eat those things everyday and still be healthy.
What I balk at, especially with this recipe, is the high price of ingredients to make something that, although the article in The Telegraph says it does, doesn't taste anything like a brownie. I quote "they still taste identical to normal brownies with the same perfectly squishy, melt-in-your-mouth texture." Either Ella Woodward hasn't eaten a brownie in so long that she has no idea what a brownie tastes like or she's well, lying. They taste like what they are, ground up dried fruit and nuts. If you go in with that starting point, not expecting miracles, they are fine. But dried fruit still has a lot of sugar in it, as does maple syrup, so healthier? I'm not so sure. Yes you're eating nuts and fruits which has, to some extent, got to be better for you that a mars bar, but it's still sugar.
They are also not cheap to make. The cacao powder comes in at £7.20 for 200g, the dates were actually on offer at £2.99 for 500g at my local Turkish supermarket but in Sainsburys they are about the same price for 200g. The pecans were £3.30 for 200g and maple syrup ain't cheap either! I suspect that this is a middle class fad. I can now afford to splurge occasionally, 2 years ago this would have been completely beyond me, and now I've spent so much money on the cacao powder I'll have a go at making a couple more fake brownie recipes. I am reliably informed that Ella's Sweet Potato Brownies are better!
I think I'll stick with my Mum's philosophy - Everything in moderation - rather than trying to keep up with the latest fad.
What I balk at, especially with this recipe, is the high price of ingredients to make something that, although the article in The Telegraph says it does, doesn't taste anything like a brownie. I quote "they still taste identical to normal brownies with the same perfectly squishy, melt-in-your-mouth texture." Either Ella Woodward hasn't eaten a brownie in so long that she has no idea what a brownie tastes like or she's well, lying. They taste like what they are, ground up dried fruit and nuts. If you go in with that starting point, not expecting miracles, they are fine. But dried fruit still has a lot of sugar in it, as does maple syrup, so healthier? I'm not so sure. Yes you're eating nuts and fruits which has, to some extent, got to be better for you that a mars bar, but it's still sugar.
They are also not cheap to make. The cacao powder comes in at £7.20 for 200g, the dates were actually on offer at £2.99 for 500g at my local Turkish supermarket but in Sainsburys they are about the same price for 200g. The pecans were £3.30 for 200g and maple syrup ain't cheap either! I suspect that this is a middle class fad. I can now afford to splurge occasionally, 2 years ago this would have been completely beyond me, and now I've spent so much money on the cacao powder I'll have a go at making a couple more fake brownie recipes. I am reliably informed that Ella's Sweet Potato Brownies are better!
I think I'll stick with my Mum's philosophy - Everything in moderation - rather than trying to keep up with the latest fad.
Raw Brownies (from The Telegraph)
(Makes 10)
1 cup pecans
2-3 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup
Put the pecans into a food processor until they form a crumbly mixture, then add the dates and blend again before adding the cacao and maple syrup.
Place the mixture into a baking tray and either refrigerate for three to four hours or freeze for one hour to allow them to set.
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