Heidi Thornton's Gluten Free Banana, Flax, Fibre Brownies

Ingredients

1/3 cup Melrose Organic Golden Flaxmeal

1 cup Almond Meal

3 heaped tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1 1/4 teaspoons Gluten-Free Baking Powder

1/3 cup plus 1 heaped tablespoon Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Melrose Organic Omega Fibre mix

1 teaspoon Salt

200g pitted Fresh Dates (~10 large dates) you need FRESH dates for this recipe, not dried.

2 Eggs

1 very ripe medium-large Banana

1.5 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 cup Low-Fat Milk

2/3 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Method

1.Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees Celsius, Convection setting.

2.Grease a 15x25cm baking pan with margarine/butter and line with baking paper.

3.Into a large bowl, sift the almond meal, cocoa, baking powder and sugar (to get rid of any lumps). Add in the ground-up flaxseed, Organic Omega Fibre and salt. Stir to combine with a large wooden spoon.

4.Cut along the dates lengthways and remove the pit. Place the pitted dates in a hand blender. Whiz until it resembles a rough paste.

5.In a separate, large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the banana to the egg mixture and mash with a fork. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine.

6.Spoon your rough date paste into the egg mixture and mash to combine. You will end up with a slightly clumpy mixture.

7.Add in the milk to the egg mixture and gently stir.

8.Pour the milky egg mixture into the large bowl containing the dry mixture and gently fold - don't overwork the batter.

9.Add the chocolate chips to the batter and gently fold them through.

10.Pour the batter into the prepared (greased and lined) baking pan. Spread evenly, smoothing the surface.

11.Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. If your oven is not so efficient, it may take a couple more minutes to cook. Be careful not to overcook your brownies, though. You want them to be a little gooey.

12.Remove from the oven and let them cool in the baking tray for 10 minutes. Slice into brownie-sized squares - this mixture will make 15 modest-sized brownies. Lift the baking sheet and brownies out onto a wire rack.

13.Serve warm with a cold glass of milk or cup of tea. For dessert, a warm brownie (heated quickly the microwave) with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream would be delightful.

14.Allow the remainder of the brownies to cool completely on the wire rack. Store in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can individually wrap the brownies in Plastic Wrap then pop them in the freezer (to be removed a few hours before eating).

Makes 15 Brownies