Recipe: Raspberry Cashew Oat Brownies

It’s rainy and drizzly today, totally not what an Australian Summer’s day should be. Since the weather is so terrible I thought I might whip up a batch of brownies to cheer the mood up.

These brownies are so moist, delicious and easy to make. You know what’s even better? They’re oil and refined sugar free! Pretty neat huh? And if you know me, you may have guessed what flour I used. Yep, oat flour. I suppose that makes them broawnies/oatnies/broatnies? Yeah... maybe I'll just call them oat brownies. 

I made raspberry cashew oat brownies today but you can add other berries, nuts, dried fruit or chocolate to your liking. What I love about the raspberries is it adds a tartness that cuts through the sweetness of the maple syrup and richness of the cocoa powder. The cashews also add a textural element to these brownies. They taste so amazing you should definitely try them out.

I’m a fan of frozen berries. They are more economical than fresh berries and can be kept for a lot longer. In terms of nutritional value, it’s practically the same if not higher for some nutrients. Raspberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, manganese and fibre. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is needed for the body to make collagen. Apart from keeping your skin looking youthful, collagen also helps to maintain healthy bones, teeth, blood vessels, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. A 19-30 year old adult is recommended to have 45 mg of vitamin C a day and one cup of frozen raspberries has about 37 mg. Vitamin C is heat sensitive so its levels will decrease by 30-40% after baking.

Raspberry Cashew Oat Brownies

• 1 ¼ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 3 medium bananas
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 2/3 cup cashews

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a 20 x 20 cm cake tin with baking paper.

Blend the oats in a food processor until it becomes a fine flour. Combine the oat flour with the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.

Blend the bananas, maple syrup and vanilla extract in the food processor until the bananas are puréed. Add the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until well combined.

Blitz the cashews in the food processor so it is roughly chopped. Fold the raspberries and cashews into the brownie mixture then pour into the prepared cake tin.

Bake for 15 min or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin before cutting.