These have been on my “to-make” list for a long time since first seeing the recipe on 101 Cookbooks. Black beans in brownies? How could you not be intrigued?
Once I actually read the recipe through, I realized that it included agave syrup, which I didn’t have – but I remembered seeing a version using brown sugar on Christina’s beautiful blog De La Casa. The only changes I would make to the recipe for next time are to add a little bit more sugar (I like my brownies bittersweet, but I felt these could be just a little sweeter) and to toast the pecans to keep them crunchy and enhance their flavour.
For real though, these brownies are good. And not in an “I’m-just-saying-that-so-I-can-feel good-about-eating-them” way – they are actually really decent brownies. They are deeply chocolatey and taste absolutely nothing like beans. Seriously, I knew they were in there and I was trying my best to detect them – but I couldn’t.
The trick, I think, is rinsing the beans very very well and then puréeing the heck out of them in the food processor. Then you add lots of chocolate, lots of butter, a little coffee, some eggs and some sugar, and quite honestly at that point the batter smelled so good that I was licking it off my fingers, with absolutely no trace of beany taste.
Once they were baked, they had a dense, almost creamy texture – not unlike the texture of regular brownies that I have tasted – and they seemed to get better with age: the next day, the flavours had melded and they were even more delicious, and, other than the chocolate and butter and sugar, totally guilt-free! 😉
Black Bean Brownies
Adapted from De La Casa and 101 Cookbooks. Makes one 9″ x 13″ pan of brownies (that just so happen to be gluten-free. Two gluten-free baking posts in a month – I swear that is just a coincidence!).
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Line a 9″ x 13″ pan with parchment paper and grease it or spray with baking spray. Set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Stir in:
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor, along with:
2 cups of cooked black beans, very well rinsed and drained (canned is fine – that’s one 540 ml can)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
Process the mixture until very very well puréed – there should be absolutely no trace of beans. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times so that everything gets puréed.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine:
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 – 1 cup packed brown sugar (the larger amount still won’t make the brownies super sweet)
1/4 tsp sea salt
Beat vigorously until foamy and slightly thickened. I think I gave myself tendonitis doing this by hand with a whisk – a handheld mixer would be useful here!
Pour the egg mixture into the chocolate-bean mixture and process until well-blended, scraping down the sides a few times to ensure it is all mixed together. Pour the chocolate batter back into the egg bowl and stir in:
1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 toasted pecans, roughly chopped
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake in the preheated 325˚F oven for 30 – 40 minutes, until set in the middle and just slightly puffed around the edges. Let cool in the pan, then remove and cut into 24 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days – any longer and they should be kept in the fridge.
Look how moist those brownies are…! In Asia we use quite a bit of sweet red beans in desserts so this concept is not too crazy for me. However red beans are really sweet and black beans are not so much so I see why a little more sugar might do well as you suggested here or maybe try sweet red beans.
Oh, these do look and sound so good. Yes, I was intrigued by the idea of black beans in brownies. May give them a try and am glad for your finding that a little more sugar plus toasting the pecans will make them even better. Your photos great.
Black bean brownies have been on my to bake list for a while too. I’m so intrigued by the idea!
This is a pretty good recipe to try – I swear on my life I would have never know there were beans in there if I hadn’t put them in myself!
I too liked it a little sweeter than what Heidi did. This has to be my favorite brownie now. Oh, except the banana brownie which is so darn good too. I have tried it both with and without the swirl of the sweet egg mix (in Heidi’s versian) through the brownie after putting in pan. It kinda caramelises on top which is lovely!
I thought about doing that with the eggs but decided against it because I was worried it would taste too eggy, but I’ll have to give it a try next time. 🙂
Korena, these look fantastic! I never had them before just because I felt apprehensive about beans in a dessert. Now, you have totally changed my mind. They look so moist and chocolatey and out of this world! YUM! 🙂
I was a little apprehensive too, especially because this makes a LOT of brownies, but the beans are completely hidden 🙂
Wow! So dense and exactly how brownies should be (as you know). I’m yet to try black bean brownies. I shall have to! Thanks, Korena.
Do it Nick – it’s definitely a frugal way to go 😉
Indeed it is!
Didn’t these turn out just fantastic! There is a local foodie in town who wrote a book on adding beans to just about everything. Just thinking of how healthy these brownies are.. and how delicious, gives me a chocolate craving this morning! xx
Hehe, I admit that I let myself eat one or two of these as a morning snack… beans are healthy, rigth?!
I’m sure of it!
I love that these use black beans — they look so moist and chewy in all your wonderful photos! I wouldn’t feel guilty having a few of these right now 🙂
I had my eye on sweets made with beans, read it recently in a vegan book and it sounded so original! and now that I see how well these brownies came out I definitely want to try myself. what a great way to add proteins and fibers to a brownie, making it not only tasty but also nutritious. thumb up!
Hehe, every time I ate one I told myself that I was getting fiber and protein along with my chocolate fix 😉
black beans and brownies, looks quite an interesting combination
I promise, you won’t notice the black beans!
I’m intrigued to try the black bean brownies, I remember the posting on 101cookbooks. Last year I started baking “secret ingredient brownies”, which include squash purée — they are fabulous and fudgy.
Oooh, squash brownies sound just as intriguing as black bean brownies! Will you share the recipe?