Made with wholesome pastured eggs, nutritious crispy pecans, coconut flour, raw honey, organic food grade cacao (cocoa) butter and did you guess the secret ingredient yet? You won’t skip a beet with this recipe! Pureed beets add the texture and moisture needed to make this recipe stand out. Your kids don’t have to know about the secret ingredient! Moist and chocolatey, indeed, a brownie by any other name would not taste as sweet!
cacao from the xocoatl tree
The cacao bean was a legendary gift from the Mayan and Aztec Gods. Xocoatl the cacao tree, was first cultivated by the Mayans. Cacao beans were so important in Mayan civilization, they were also used as currency. I can understand why. When you stop eating chocolate and replace it with cacao butter you really begin to appreciate the purity of this substance.
Cacao butter has a high content of saturated fats mainly derived from stearic and palmitic acids as well as monunsatuated fats from oleic acids. Cacao butter is obtained from wholecacao beans, which are fermented, roasted, and then separated from their hulls. About 54 – 58% of the residue is cacao butter.
Cacao solids are the low-fat component of chocolate. They may also be called cocoa powder, cocoa, and cacao. Cacao liquor is the melted combination of cacao butter and cacao solids and is used in making chocolate.
For people wishing to avoid the sugars, starches and neuro stimulants in chocolate, cacao butter is the way to go.
pure cacao butter
The purest chocolate comes from organic food grade cacao butter. This is 100% fat and is legal on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which allows no starches. This cacao butter imbues a mild chocolate flavor to any baked product. For folks on the SCD who have been without chocolate, this is an amazing treat. Many goodies can be made that are full of nutrition and satisfying to chocolate lovers. Well tolerated by people who are caffeine sensitive, because there is no caffeine in cacao butter, it is a gift for those on restrictive diets.
beets are abundant with nutrition and protection
Bursting with the the sweetness characteristic of fruit, beets are still a root vegetable and as such, contain unique antioxidants and phytonutrients. The anitoxidants are the two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. These antioxidants have been found to offer protection against coronary artery disease, stroke and have anti-aging effects.
Additionally, lutein and zeaxanthin are powerful protectors against free radical damage, particularly with respect to the macula and retina of the eye.
Beets also are a unique source of betalains. Betanin and vulgaxanthin are the two best-studied betalains from beets, and have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support. The betalains also lower the levels of homocysteine in the body which can be harmful to the blood vessels. Thus, beetroot offers protection against cardiovascular diseases.
Beets have also been shown to protect against cancer, particularly of the skin, liver, lung,prostate and breast.
Beets are rich in vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. You really can’t beat the nutrition here.
| cacao beet brownies with raspberry frosting | Print |
- 6 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup cocoa butter (get some here)
- 2 cups crispy pecans or]make your own
- 2 cups chopped beets, steamed until soft
- ½ cup honey
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup coconut flour (get it here)
- 1 cup coconut spread (get it here)
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup homemade raspberry jam (check out this recipe)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (get it here)
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and line its bottom with parchment paper.
- In a food processor process the pecans until they are as smooth as a nut butter Add the cooked beets and process with the nut butter until they are pureed. Don’t freak out — the batter will be pink! Crack the eggs into a bowl and add to the processor and mix.
- On the stove melt the cocoa butter on a low heat (be careful to remove from the heat as soon as it is melted or it will become bitter). Add the cocoa butter, honey and vanilla to the food processor and mix Add the coconut flour, salt and baking soda and mix. The batter should be firm but pourable. Pour it into a greased pan that has parchment paper at the bottom
- Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean.
- While the brownies cool, prepare the frosting by gently heating coconut spread in a small pot until it is spreadable. Remove the pot from heat and whisk in honey, vanilla and homemade jam. Mix together until well-combined.
- Let brownies cool in the pan.
- Cut the brownies with a pizza cutter and remove from pan, keeping them together.
- Apply the frosting with a spatula as evenly as possible when it is at room temperature.
- If you prefer the frosting hard, refrigerate the brownies.
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