[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] W[/dropcap]hen we first found out we were pregnant, my trusty ‘app’ calculated the due date as 28th Feb. My first thought was maybe we’ll have a ‘leap year’ baby?
How cool would that be?
Well turns out young Finbar Brennan had other ideas.
But I’m so thrilled this little bundle of joy came early. Not that I’m biased or anything but he really is the cutest. Very similar to his doting big brother Fergal at this age.
We’ve been having the best ‘koala’ cuddles. Even in this 35C+ (95F) heat. I’d forgotten how divine newborns are.
To celebrate the safe arrival of Finbar do I have a recipe treat for you!
Sweet potato and brownies! Together at last! (and they don’t have any added sugar!).
I know. Lots of exclamation marks but I can’t help myself at the moment…
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Sweet Potato Brownies
Having gestational diabetes has really opened my eyes to new ways of baking without adding sugar or flour. There’s a whole new world out there! After lots of experimentation, including growing my own, I’ve settled on pure powdered stevia as my fave low carb sweetener. I order mine online. It’s expensive but a tiny bit goes a super long way so not so bad when you look at cost per use.
Important note: the stevia I use is concentrated stevia on it’s own. NOT ‘Natvia’ type blends of stevia and sugar alcohols (usually erythritol). I’ve tried both and prefer the cleaner taste of pure stevia. Plus I worry about the impact of sugar alcohols on our (and more importantly our children’s) gut bacteria. If you don’t have pure stevia, see the variations below for alternative sweeteners.
These sweet potato brownies are still a bit carby but better than the alternative.
makes about: 12 squares
takes: 30 minutes
250g (9oz) roast sweet potato
200g (7oz) dark chocolate
200g (7oz) almond meal
1/8 teaspoon pure powdered stevia
4 eggs
pinch salt
1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line a rectangular slice pan (approx 18cm x 27cm / 7in x 10.5in).
2. Whizz sweet potato, chocolate, almond meal, stevia, eggs and salt in a food processor until you have a smooth mixture.
3. Spread mixture over the base of your prepared tin. Bake for 15 minutes or until the brownies feel firm on top.
4. Cool in the tin then chop into squares.
Variations
no food processor? – melt chocolate and mash everything together with a fork.
no roasted sweet potato? – just scrub whole sweet potato and roast for 45mins to 1 hour at 180C (350F) or until really soft.
no powdered stevia? – replace with about 15 pitted dried dates that have been soaked in boiling water and drained. OR add maple syrup or honey to taste (about 4-5 tablespoons should do the trick).
nut-free – I haven’t tried this but you could try increasing the sweet potato and chocolate by 100g (3.5oz) each.
less patchy – the chocolate can be a bit chunky through these brownies so if you prefer a more uniform look, melt the chocolate before adding to the food processor.
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Big love
(from the newborn cocoon),
Jules x
Thanks a million for posting a photo of your newborn son. He is absolutely beautiful! Well done, Jules, and what impresses me most is his name – Finbar! I love Fergal’s name and thought you wouldn’t be able to come up with a name as distinctive and handsome as your firstborn, but Finbar is fabulous! I do hope you post more photos of your beautiful boys – everyone loves a baby, believe me! Good luck with these early days, and nights!
That’s one sweet baby boy
Warmest congratulations to you both and to that special big brother
Congrats on your growing family. All the best to the young boy and his mother, father and brother.
Congrats to you, the Irishman and Fergal on the latest addition to your family. He’s beautiful. Great recipe too- thanks!
Congratulations, Jules! Both boys are beautiful.
Do you think canned pumpkin would work?
Congrats and welcome to the newest stone in the soup!! :)
Hi Jules,
Congratulations on the beautiful little boy! Curious which stevia that you use.
Welcome to your new bub! Now is absolutely the time for you to revitalize, recover, and rejuvenate. Love that you’re using sweet potato here both for body and their natural sweetness — with a nutrient hit of fiber, antioxidants, vitamin A and B vitamins, potassium… all good stuff for postpartum mums! Can you recommend a substitution of cocoa powder for the chocolate, or would that be too drastic an alteration? Thanks, and CHEERS.
Congratulations, Jules and family! XO Grace
Can’t wait to try
Thank You for sharing
Hi Jules, Congratulations on your latest achievement! Your sons are beautiful and so is your blog. It is an inspiration for me because of the way you have made it your mission to steer people away from unnecessarily complicated cooking. For decades I have fretted about the completely skewed image of Indian food in the world, because I grew up with a completely different tradition where the ingredient was king and the process elegant in its minimalism. Inspired by you, I have decided to try to change the world’s perception of Indian food, thanks to your inspiration! Here is my newborn blog taking its baby steps theminimalistindiandotwordpressdotcom
Congratulations!
I tried it yesterday. It was amazing and my boyfriend just loved it:-)
Great Anne!
Jules, interested to know if you think pure stevia extract in its liquid form can be substituted for the powdered version you use with no adverse effects to the recipes? I assume because the amount you use is so tiny that it’s purely for sweetness to taste and doesn’t effect the structure/chemistry of the baked goods. If so, I’m fine adding liquid stevia to my own taste, yeah? I’ve been perusing all of your desert recipes lately and am enjoying all the lower carb/higher fat options! Mmmmm, brownies!
Yes Sarah… adding liquid stevia to taste will be fine. Let me know how you get on!
Jx