When I baked chocolate beetroot cake months ago, a friend of mine told me about another cake she had eaten a while back – black beans cake. That stuck in my mind since then and I wanted to try using black beans in a sweet recipe.

That said, I looked for canned black beans in several markets in Kamppi, since it would be easier that way. However, for some reason I could not get a hold of canned black beans and I bought a package of raw black beans in Ruohonjuuri – it is a 500 gr package and costs €2.70. You can also find it in K-market and most probably in S-market too. My friend told me that there is canned version in S-market so try that if you like.

This recipe does not have any flour in it. The beans are just enough. I added a bit of hazelnuts in it, to add more flavour but you can skip that or put something else instead – like another nut type or even chocolate chips. I’ve seen even some versions of this brownie with instant coffee added.

If you have raw beans like I did, it is good to plan your baking from a day ahead, keeping the beans overnight in some water. Alternatively, you can put the beans in the water in the morning and bake in the evening as well. It is good to have the beans in the water for at least 8 hours.

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Ingredients:

2 cups / 480 ml black beans (measure this AFTER: 1. you leave them in the water overnight or for at least 8 hours, 2. you drain well)
2 cups / 480 ml water (to cook the beans. If you are using canned beans, you do not need this water)
3 eggs
3/4 cup / 180 ml brown sugar
3 tbsp / 45 ml canola oil (rypsiöljy in Finnish – you can use any vegetable oil)
1 tsp / 5 ml vanilla extract
1/4 cup / 60 ml cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
80 gr. crushed hazelnuts (I bought ready crushed hazelnuts from K-market. If you are going to crush them – or any other nuts – yourself, then I recommend you do not crush them using a food processor. Instead do it by hand – so that you do not end up with powdered nuts. It’s nice to feel the texture of nuts..)

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1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Cook the beans in 2 cups / 480 ml water in medium heat, until they are soft enough to mash. Once cooked, drain them and put the cooked beans in a large plate.

3. Mash the beans into a puree.

4. Put the mashed beans in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and salt (forgot to take the picture of adding salt, sorry!), and beat them using an electric mixer until they are fully mixed (or if you don’t have any, just hand whisk it well).

5. Fold in the crushed hazelnuts.

6. Grease a cake mould and cover with baking sheets.

7. Pour the brownie batter in the mould.

8. Bake for about 30 minutes. The top should be dry and the edges of the brownie should start pulling away from the sides. Once baked, take it out of the oven and leave it to cool for a while. Once cooled enough, take it out of the oven, slice it and start eating!!!