No Bake Brownies Recipe

No-bake brownies are a type of slice that is typically made without traditional brownie ingredients like flour and eggs. Instead, raw brownies are made with whole, unprocessed, healthier ingredients. This healthy brownie recipe is not only delicious but also gluten free and dairy free. It's one of the staple treats at Gwinganna health retreat in Queensland.

Serves 6

Prep 30 min

Cook 40 min

Ingredients

Date paste

1 ½ cups Medjool dates, pitted
1 litre boiling water

Base

1 ½ cups walnuts
¾ cup almonds
½ tbsp ground cinnamon
¾ cup coconut flour
¾ cup cacao powder
1 ½ cups date paste
½ tsp vanilla paste
50ml almond milk
100ml coconut oil

Topping

1 ¾ cups hazelnuts
75ml coconut oil
½ tsp vanilla paste
¼ cup cacao powder
¼ cup coconut sugar

Method

Cover dates in boiling water and soak for 10 minutes. Discard water. Place dates in a food processor and blitz until they form a paste.
For the base, preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a square brownie tray (about 24cm x 24cm square) with baking paper. Toast walnuts and almonds in the oven for 5 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool. Place walnuts and almonds in a food processor and pulse until fine. Add cinnamon, flour, cacao and blitz to combine. Then add in vanilla, almond milk and coconut oil. Mix in date paste.
Press mixture into the prepared tray. Ensure the base is packed well and press firmly into each corner with your hands, then refrigerate to firm while you prepare the topping.
For the topping, toast hazelnuts on a baking tray in the oven at 180°C for 6 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a food processor while the hazelnuts are still hot, then blitz for 5 minutes. Combine vanilla paste, cacao and coconut sugar then add to hazelnut mix. Continue to blend, adding the coconut oil while the food processor blade is processing and blend for another 5 minutes. The topping will be ready when it has a smooth texture like icing.
Top the chilled brownie base with hazelnut topping and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from the tin and slice into desired brownie size bites.

This is an edited extract from the Gwinganna Gourmet cookbook. Photography Nelly le Comte.