Sea Salted Black Bean Brownies with Lavender

I’ve got three days until Cinco de Mayo hits. And when it does, I’ll need: 1) an industrial supply of guacamole and 2) liquor. Assuming you’ve got the guac, I’ve got the rest…

Somewhere between mimosas two and four in a half last weekend I came up with about half a billion brilliant plans to add lavender buds to virtually all my recipes. Here’s one.

You’ve heard of dessert, right?

Rephrase: Milk chocolate. Vanilla. Dark chocolate. Nuts. Marshmallows. Sugar. Cakes. Pies.

Oh, so you’re familiar with them? Good. Now get familiar with these. Rhymes with “krownies”.

Black beans and brownies. With sea salt and lavender. These are the best ones. Right here. Let’s discuss.

A chocolate brownie without some lavender is no chocolate brownie at all. That pretty much covers it.

Sea Salted Black Bean Brownies with Lavender

adapted from Joy the Baker

(yields 12 servings)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, shaved (about 1/2 cup)

4 ounces dark chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup black beans, rinsed, drained, and pureed until smooth in a food processor

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, plus 2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp canola oil

1 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 tbsp lavender buds

coarse sea salt, for topping

Preparation:

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray.

Fill a medium sauce pan with 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a simmer. Place butter, milk chocolate, and ark chocolate in the bowl. Place the bowl over simmering water and stir until chocolate and butter are melted and combined.  Remove the bowl from the simmering saucepan.

Allow the melted chocolate mixture to cool for a few moments. Whisk in the egg and egg whites, one at a time, until mixture is glossy. Whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the bean puree, vanilla extract, and oil.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sea salt, and lavender buds. Add the dry ingredients, all at once, to the chocolate mixture. Use a spatula to incorporate. Once thoroughly combined, pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top sea salt.

Bake brownies for 25-28 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with just a few chocolate crumbs on it.  The center may seem undercooked, but it will cook further as it cools.

Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Cut brownies into 12 generous pieces. Store, wrapped individually, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Happy Noming!

Nutritional information (per brownie): 260 calories, 12g fat (6 sat, 1 poly, 4.5 mono), 36.5g carbphydrates, 4g protein, 2g fiber