…with Oats, Cardamom and Cacao Nibs
(Vegetarian, Gluten-free option)
Printable Version
The worst sort of tease, I’m afraid.
I showed up at the Seed Saver’s Exchange annual convention in Decorah, Iowa, set up my exhibit table to talk about the bean project, and distributed Beanstock bookmarks, instructions for 5 unexpected ways to cook beans, and a few of my favorite recipes, printed prettily on note cards. Plus I fed the masses with tempting little bites of black bean and oat brownies sprinkled with crunchy cacao nibs.
About 400 people came through, and more than half of them tasted the brownies. The Seed Saver’s staff ate the rest. And the two questions I got, unfailingly in this order, went just like this: “There are beans in these brownies?? Is the recipe on your website?”
“Black Valentines,” I’d declare, obviously quite proud, and spring into a happy spiel about the dark chocolate undertones of some of the heirloom black beans and the fact that you just can’t find this complexity in the hybrid, mono-cropped produce. “And the recipe?” they’d gently nudge. “Is that on your site?”
Oh, dear readers. That was a terrible thing for me to do. I do have recipes posted for black bean cupcakes and black bean cookies, I’d explain, but the brownies, well, no. “Not yet,” I’d hedge, “but it will be the first recipe I post when I get back.”
It was only that I’d adapted a brownie recipe on the fly very late the night before the conference, whipping up enough batter to feed a foodie crowd, without ever without jotting down a single note. Baking is precision and I often feel like the antithesis of exactitude, or, in other words, it’s nothing shy of a full-blown miracle that these brownies turned out so spectacularly. But my goodness, they did. Rich, fudgy, earthy, with a complex texture created by oats and a sprinkling of cocoa nibs. Invitingly sweet but not too, and exotically infused with cinnamon and a pinch of cardamom.
They were very good.
I’m back now. And here’s that recipe.
Black Bean Brownies with Oats, Cardamom and Cacao Nibs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
1/1/2 cups Black Valentine beans (or other black beans)
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cups flour**
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup strong brewed coffee (espresso is ideal)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom
Coarse turbinado
*Cacao – er, Kakao — nibs
*A note about the nibs: These are cocoa beans, toasted, roasted, shelled and broken into bits. To my taste buds, cacao nibs are richer and more intense than the eventual chocolate that they become. I first tasted them in a truffle made by Brian Pelletier, the chocolatier extraordinaire at Kakao Chocolate. It’s also where I got the nibs – and if you want some, you can get them from him too. He’s St. Louis based but he ships – and you should definitely try the salted caramels while you’re ordering. And the ginger bark. And the lavender truffles. Oh and the toasted almond bar…. It’s good stuff, people. Very good!
**If you want to make a gluten-free brownie, you can use a mixture of 1/4 cup mesquite flour and 1 1/4 cups quinoa flour. Or use a gluten-free baking mix, but keep in mind that those tend to contain baking powder already.
How to make the brownies: Preheat the oven to 345°F. Line an 11- by 18-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Using a double boiler or a microwave, melt the chocolate and butter together in a glass bowl. If using the microwave, heat for 1 1/2 minutes and stir, then heat in 40 second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Place the beans, vanilla, and 1/3 of the melted chocolate in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cinnamon and cardamom and mix again. Scrape down the sides, then add the salt and baking powder and pulse a few times to mix. Add the oats and flour and blend again. The mixture will be smooth and pourable.
In a large bowl, stir together the remaining melted chocolate mixture and the coffee. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
In another bowl (yes, sorry, we’re messing up your kitchen here), use an electric mixer to beat the eggs until whipped, about two minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat until smooth.
Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well. Gradually fold in the egg mixture and mix well. Pour your batter into the prepared baking pan, then sprinkle the top of the batter with coarse sugar crystals.
Bake at 340 degrees for about 10 minutes, then slide the tray out of the oven and generously sprinkle the top of the brownies with cacao nibs. At this point the batter will be firm enough to keep them from sinking to the bottom (sorry to all those who tasted my brownies and thought they were eating crunchy beans). Return tray to the oven and continue baking until the brownies are set and firm to the touch, about 25 minutes more. Remove from oven, sprinkle again with sugar crystals and slide the brownies out of the pan to cool. Allow to cool fully before slicing them.
Thanks to all of you who came by and chatted. It was a true pleasure to meet you, in particular those of you who met me there last year and have been reading ever since.
I will write more about the convention soon, but for now, here are a few photos. Apparently, still a tease…
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| A moveable greenhouse, per Eliot Coleman’s design. Coleman was the keynote speaker at the event. |
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| A heritage chicken, housed at Seed Saver’s Exchange. SSE keeps heirloom livestock, including several poultry varieties and cattle. |
Tags: black bean brownies, cacao nibs, kakao chociolate, Seed Saver's Exchange convention
Oh, thanks for the recipe. I was there at the convention and I’ve been checking for this since Saturday!
I think something went wrong with that chicken, lol!! Are those the danver chickens? I’ve been reading about heirloom poultry a lot lately but haven’t had the chance to see them. I am looking forward to trying your brownie recipe, as I’ve tried other versions but I find the batter too runny, and the final pastry isn’t textured enough. I bet the oats take care of both of those problems. Other versions I’ve seen use agave nectar and I don’t find it sweet enough, guess I have an American palate. :p
Grand Idea love the combination:)
Thanks for wonderful Recipe:)
It’s about time… Met you at the convention campout, and it was great to talk to you. You’ve got an important project and I’m glad we caught up. Just signed up for email notices and I’m looking forward to future posts.
First, I love that chicken!
Your brownies sound great with the oats and spices and the beans. I’m imagining the beans make them more tender, but I’ll just have to try them and find out.
Lisa — I love that chicken too. I really, really do. They’re very quiet and polite, as chickens go, too. I found it funny that you and I both did unusual things with black beans this week. : )
By the way, Leela, I think it’s the chicken breed is Silkie.
that chicken is hilarious! looks like a little colonial dude. probably dates back to that time, huh? love the post, very jealous that you got to go to the convention. i had read that eliott coleman was going to be there and wanted to hear him and his wife. black bean brownies huh? i’d like to hear what other readers who try them think. i’m dubious.
Hi Becky,
I LOVE your blog and I love heirloom beans.
I was wondering if it would be possible to reduce the
butter on the amazing seeming brownies, or replace
some of it with pureed prunes or applesauce?
I’m a weightwatcher.
thanks Em
Hi Em, thanks for visiting! I was thinking about that as well — the recipe has a lot of eggs and a lot of butter. I was afraid to reduce the eggs because the batter was so runny to begin with and eggs help keep it together, but butter also makes the dough spread, so if you reduced some of that you might also be able to cut out an egg. I’ll probably try it next time — but if you do it first, please let us know what happens. I don’t know what these changes will do to the flavor, of course, but experimentation is the only way to know I guess.
Becky, how much baking powder? Jealous you got to attend SSE’s annual convention! Have followed your blog for about a year and have come to anticipate your next posting.
Oops — sorry Terry, you’re right! The recipes that I was working with didn’t call for any, but I added some to mine and it tunred otu to be a good call. I used 1/2 teaspoon — not much.
I saw you at the conference and was happy to meet you since I’ve been reading the blog almost since it started. I got to taste the brownies you speak of and am very happty have the recipe. I thought they were fantastic and didn’t mistake the nibs for burnt beans!
Oh, wow — first off, I’ve always wanted to attend the SeedSavers convention. So fun!
Next — you almost gave me a heart attack. I thought maybe you’d made the brownies on the fly and then… *gasp* FORGOTTEN the recipe. That would have been truly tragic
I’m stoked about the brownies…. you’re going to get me planting (and drying) heirloom beans YET.
Lo — well, I didn’t forget — I just never really knew in the first place what had gone into them. I had to make them again. For you all, of course. Big sacrifice, working our way through another batch of brownies. Funny story: I brought some of them to work only I didn’t tell anybody about t he beans. They never would have touched them if they knew the contained beans. In ignorance they happily ate them up though. Think I should tell…?
Heirloom livestock? That’s so cool! Sounds like an awesome event. And black bean brownies? Don’t even get me started. I love ‘em. Though never used cardamom or cacao before. These are such a great recipe to create converts. They eat and they start listening!
Um, Becky? Is this a legitimate way for me to eat veggies?
Those sound fantastic. I love the unique combination of flavors. I’m so intrigued.
This is so fabulous that you exhibited at the Seed Saver’s convention. It is on my list to attend at least once in my life, hopefully it will be more than that. Your use of black beans is brilliant- why not in a desert? Oriental cuisines have used beans in sweet deserts forever. I’m going to ponder on these and try to come up with a vegan version. Eggs have left the building, so to speak, when it comes to my kitchen, but there many ways to bind baked goods. Also I can’t wait to try cacao nibs, they sound so good.
Hi Becky: in your gluten-fre variation, I notice you suggest mesquite flour. LOVE that stuff but I’ve seen it only online…do you have a source in STL who stocks it?
Hi Sarah — I wish I did but no. I’ve looked and it doesn’t seem to be available in stores. I get mine from Native Seeds/SEARCH. I was thinking though, there’s a local baker who makes some of the gluten-free mixes that are sold in Whole Foods and other places, and I think she also bakes goods and sells those, and I know her products contain mesquite. I wonder if she’d be willing to order it? I wish I knew her name, but Whole Foods would be able to tell you. Also, you probably already know this if you use it, but a little bit of mesquite goes a very long way, so add it cautiously!