My Muy Bueno refined sugar-free brownies

We tried these brownies for the launch of Justine Murphy’s new book, The mymuybueno Cookbook, and couldn’t believe they were refined sugar-free! Justine has very kindly shared her recipe with us here...

"I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tweaked my brownie recipe over the years, to perfect the version below. At least a hundred, if not more. It’s been absolutely worth it to create a brownie as good, if not better than my 2011 original. The chia provides the right amount of ‘squidge’ and the almonds make it more fudgy than cakey. It’s the best of all brownie worlds."

Ingredients:

For the chia-egg:

• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 3 tbsp warm water

Dry Ingredients:

• 200g plain flour, sifted
• 50g ground almonds
• 300g coconut sugar
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted
• 60g cacao powder, sifted
• Pinch of Himalayan salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 100ml almond milk
• 130g coconut oil, melted
• For the topping
• 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, pistachios, pecans or cacao nibs

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and lightly grease a 20cm square or rectangular tin with melted coconut oil. Line the base with parchment paper.
2. Place the chia seeds in a bowl with the warm water, mix well then leave to one side for 10 minutes to thicken up. Stir once in this time to ensure the dry seeds on top have taken on the water below.
3. In an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine your dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the almondmilk and melted coconut oil with the chia-egg.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and leave to mix well for around 5 minutes to ensure all the oil has been incorporated. You will be left with a shiny and very thick mixture.
5. Pour this into the lined tin and press it down firmly and evenly using a silicone spatula. Sprinkle the brownie with your topping of choice, then bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until cooked through but still a little soft in the middle. It will continue cooking from the residual heat of the tin once out the oven.
6. Leave the brownie to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer it to a wire rack by lifting the paper. After another 10 minutes, carefully use another wire rack to turn it upside down and gently remove the paper. Leave to cool completely (this part is very important) before cutting into squares. Enjoy!