Coconut&Chocolate Brownie

Is nice to be back after one month off.
I went back home for Christmas holidays and then I went in a kitesurf trip to Cape Town...it was unbelievable, amazing, awesome kiting conditions and good vibes. Is nice to be outside the Middle East once in a while and make sure that there's still life out there :-)

Cape Town is such an amazing place, people are super nice and relaxed and they have such an amazing lifestyle which reminds me a lot the lifestyle in Sunshine Coast in Australia. People wake up and they go kiting or surfing before going to work, at lunch time or after work...basically they go when they want as wind is on 24h and if there's no wind there is all the time swell.
That place is my Disneyland, wonderland, whatever you want to name it...is a kind of watersports paradise.
But beside the watersports they have so many things to do as hiking, wakeboard, skateboard everywhere, loads of yoga studios.
I confess that I didn't went to any yoga studio as my body was only switched on to kitesurf.

We made nice trips along the vineyards, which I totally advise to someone that goes there. South African wine is maybe one of the best ones of the world, their Pinotage is just amazing.
I also came across with so many organic stores, full of produces that I struggle to find in here and so cheap comparing to Oman...I wish to have a kind of shop like that one in here, probiotics, different flours, organic oils, organic produces for body, everything...I bought few things I confess.
Some people spend their money in purses and shoes, I buy organic things and flours :)

But is enough of talking about my holidays and let's go back to the recipe world.

I start by saying that I recently made this brownie to take to a workshop of Yoga and all the yogis loved it...it was so nice to have such a good feedback.

When I started to have a Low Carb High Fat diet I discovered a recipe of coconut brownie but I wasn't really happy with the final result, or it was to dry or I didn't liked the texture...there was all the time something that would make me twist my nose.

After few experiments I think that I am happy with the final result of this one. I achieved the flavour and texture that I was searching for.

This recipe was adapted from one recipe that I have found in Pinterest mixed with one from http://ceyloncoconutcompany.com and although people may think that this has too much coconut I can ensure that you don't even feel the coconut flavour. The dark cocoa powder cut all the coconut flavour so it really tastes like a traditional brownie. And the moisture....OMG....yummmyyyyy :)

For me the hard thing was to find the proper coconut flour as some flours are not really powder and look a bit more like almond meal. So I found one from Sri Lanka really white and in a thin powder, awesome for baking.

Although I try to use only honey, dates or stevia in my recipes, in this one I used organic unrefined coconut sugar. I already tried to replace it with honey and also with Stevia and it wasn't so tasty and the consistency was a bit weird.
I might give a go with honey another time, as I am starting to be a bit more comfortable baking with coconut flour. I have to say that takes a while to get used to bake with coconut flour as it absorbs all the liquids and swells a bit.
It took me really long time to understand the proportions and how to use coconut flour and coconut oil in baking...and I am still learning :)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil 
• 1/2 cup of  dark cocoa powder 
• 6 eggs 
• 1 cup of unrefined coconut sugar 
• 1/3 cup of coconut milk (or almond milk) 
• 1/2 cup of coconut flour
• pinch of salt 
• 1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans (optional) 

Let' do it:

• Pre-heat the oven to 250 C
• In a saucepan combine the coconut oil and the cocoa powder and melt it under low heat. Let it cool down
• In a bowl mix the eggs and coconut sugar, coconut milk and pinch of salt
• Add the chocolate mixture and mix it well 
• Add the coconut flour and mix well 
• Add the nuts previously broken in small pieces 
• Grease a ceramic dish with butter and pour the batter 
• Bake for 25-30 minutes 

*Note*- I advise you to use a ceramic dish instead of a aluminium tray. I find that the ceramic dish keeps a bit more the moisture of the brownie, while the aluminium trays dry the batter.

Time of preparation: 10 preparation + 30 minute baking
Quantity: It gave me 12 brownies but it depends on the size of the squares that you chose to cut :) 

Please let me know how it went! I am sure that you will love it.

Today I leave you Portuguese sounds. Sara Tavares is a Portuguese songwriter and singer with deep roots from Cape Verde. 

She has an amazing voice and unfortunately she is not really known worldwide but she is good..oh yes she is. 

Please listen if you like african sounds...I love African sounds! 

I have this song in my yoga playlist :)

Have a nice day and enjoy life as much as you can. Love every second of your life!