Madhouse recipe : Healthy Fudgey Brownies with Comvita Manuka Honey

I have to admit, whenever I see sweet treats described as healthy, I usually grin to myself and think "hmm I bet they don't taste nice". Well, these Healthy Fudgey Brownies may have changed my mind on that score ! They don't really have what I would call a brownie texture - they're spongier and less gooey - but they taste lovely. They also had the added advantage of using a variety of ingredients, such as coconut flour and coconut sugar, that I had in the back of the cupboard and didn't really know what to do with.

The recipe came from Comvita, who challenged me to make the brownies using some of their UMF graded Manuka honey. Comvita is a New Zealand-based natural health company which has been producing world-renowned UMF Manuka honey since 1974 in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. Manuka Honey contains unique plant phenols that are naturally present at varying levels in honey made from the nectar of the Manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium), native to New Zealand, and  to ensure that you are buying genuine Manuka honey, you should always look for the UMF quality mark. Certified by the UMF quality mark, Comvita ensures your Manuka honey is authentic so you can enjoy all the goodness from nature.

Healthy Fudgey Brownies with Comvita Manuka Honey

ingredients :

Makes 16 brownies

½ cup or 50g of coconut flour

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup coconut oil (Or melted butter if preferred)

3 eggs (Best if left at room temperature)

½ cup Comvita® Manuka Honey UMF® 5+

(Use ¾ cup for a sweeter taste)

Tastes great with an added dash of vanilla extract

Add crushed nuts if you wish

Preheat the oven to 150°C and grease a baking dish or tray. Make sure that the tray does not cause the mixture to spread too thin, approximately 1 inch in depth works well. (I actually doubled up the ingredients to make sure I had a nice depth in my tin.)

Mix together all of the ingredients thoroughly. I had to fight off Pierre who kept coming back to dip a finger in for a taste !

Pour into the tray and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (I had to leave mine for longer because I'd doubled up the quantities.)

Once baked, leave to cool for 30 minutes (if you can wait!) before cutting and removing from the pan. These brownies last well, kept in the fridge in a container…unless of course you can’t help yourself!

They're 90% guilt free! The only cheeky ingredient is some butter, or substitute if you prefer. I used melted coconut oil which worked perfectly. This recipe produces delicious, dense brownies which taste rich and decadent. The Manuka honey gives them a lovely sweetness and squishy texture.

for more information : www.comvita.co.uk

Disclosure : I received a shopping voucher for ingredients.