Happy Halloween

we can all eat almonds! "caramel" apples with friends in backyard

recipe

Artisana sent us a sample jar of raw almond butter. we used here as filling

our treats

feels great to decorate front door of new house

FARE teal pumpkin. we gave out non-food treats and our lovely neighbor put out a few in the neighborhood

on our way to block party with spooky eyeballs

Vegan Double Chocolate Sunflower Brownie Cake

cake ready for oven

A good friend of mine often sends me interesting recipes with all the right ingredients. This vegan double chocolate brownie recipe came at the perfect time since Big Brother recently asked, in anticipation of his 7 1/2 Birthday, for a double chocolate cake. For special moments, I usually make our signature chocolate chip cookie pie out of garbanzo beans since we all love it. Today, we decided to try this recipe and turn the classic brownie idea into a round cake using a springform pan.  It is a tradition of ours to celebrate the Boy's half Birthdays with half a cake.  This works out nicely since we eat half the cake and freeze the other for the following month-Birthdays are just two months apart. This afternoon, anticipating a big rain storm and while Papi was out strolling little brother for afternoon nap, Big Brother and enjoyed time together baking.  He helped with each step of the baking process.  His commentary while adding the flour back into to TM bowl full of chocolate batter: "It's like a snowy mountain in the middle of a chocolate lake".  Isn't it great to be in the kitchen with children?


What you need: 

6 tablespoons rice flour, Whole Foods long grain brown rice
4 tablespoons oat flour, Bob's Redmill gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup + 4 tablespoons (74 grams) Trader Joe's coco powder
2 cups (280 grams)Trader Joe's unsalted sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon real salt
1 cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup, plus 4 tablespoons water
1/2 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

What to do: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Line springform cake pan with baking paper. 

Rub coconut oil over baking paper and up around sides of pan.

Add rice and oats to TM bowl and grind to flour: speed 9 for 1 minute.

Put flour aside in a bowl to add back in later.

Add sunflower seeds to TM bowl and blen to a flour is formed: speed 7-8 for 30 seconds.

Add the cocoa powder, baking powder and salt to TM bowl and mix: speed 3 for 20 seconds.

Add the maple syrup, vanilla and water to TM bowl and mix: speed 6 for 1 minute.

Scrape down sides and blend until smooth.

Add the rice and oat flours back to the TM bowl and mix: speed 6 for 20 seconds. The batter will be thick and smooth.

Add the chocolate chops to the TM bowl and mix: reverse blade, speed 3 for 10 seconds.

Pour the batter into springform pan with the helpful spatula.  Check out my new one

Bake for 35 minutes.  See the original recipe for more information on how the cake should come out and how to decide if it needs 5 more minutes.  Note: I found the brownies a bit more crumbly one hour after pulling from oven than I had expected. I wonder what I can do next time for the fudge consistency I like.  Perhaps I shouldn't have doubled the recipe for the first go? 

rice and oat flour made in Thermomix

sunflower seed flour

Big Brother adding flour

"it's like a snowy mountain in the middle of a chocolate lake"

Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

does adding rice and oat flour to chips help them not sink like regular flour?

he is so delighted with cake batter

learning how to spread batter.  he called this "swirling"

boys pleased with cake

took out with us for dessert