Dark chocolate, pumpkin and sea salt truffle brownies

OK these are so decadent, I had to make them into petit fours.   So let’s call them brownies for grown ups.  I was determined to get as many immune supportive foods in as possible.  See ‘Food Facts’ at the bottom for more. They are gluten free.

I kept the sugar low in these by using xylitol but you can use maple, dates, coconut sugar, suga vida, or dark sugar if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 150g cooked butternut squash or pumpkin

• 4 large eggs

• 1 tspn vanilla extract

• 20g fresh ginger, grated

• 150g of xylitol or sugar or 1 cup of maple syrup. 

• 100g toasted walnuts, finely chopped

• 140g buckwheat or teff flour.  If using liquid sweetener, add another 10g of flour

• 200g dark chocolate (I used 90%)

• 150g butter

• 2 tspns mixed spice

• ½ tspn cardamom seeds, freshly ground

• ½ tspn sea salt

• 2 tbspns pumpkin seeds

Method:

1. Heat oven to 170 deg C

2. Toast and finely chop the walnuts

3. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a bain marie

4. Blend the cooked squash with the eggs, sugar, grated ginger and vanilla extract.

5. Add the flour and spices to the liquid mixture and stir together.

6. Stir in the melted chocolate.  It should be glossy and have a thick dropping consistency.

7. Spoon into a 22cm square baking tin.  Sprinkle with sea salt and pumpkin seeks

8. Bake for no more than 15 mins, turning half way through.  Check after 10 mins, with a skewer.  You want fudgey brownie, not a cake

9. Leave to cool and cut into bars or petit fours

10. Makes 32 bars or 64 petit fours

Food Facts

• Dark chocolate – high in magnesium and iron

• Pumpkin – a great source of vitamin A, C and anti-inflammatory omega 3

• Ginger – loaded with anti-inflammatory gingerol

• Walnuts - an excellent source of several vitamins and minerals including copper, folic acid, phosphorus, vitamin B6, manganese, and vitamin E.

• Buckwheat – low to medium on the GI index and gluten free.  High in the amino acids lysine and arginine, a good source of minerals and low in phytic acids (an inhibitor of nutrient absorption)

• Eggs – great source of protein

• Not forgetting all of those anti-oxidants in those spices