The Only Raw Brownie Recipe You'll Ever Need

Hi guys, 

today I'm sharing a recipe with you that I've been partly making for years. It's my go-to raw brownie recipe. It's the only one you'll ever need. Once you've got this base, you can add anything into the brownies, starting with pumpkin spice over peppermint flavour, turning these into little bliss balls or cake pops, using it as a base for a raw cheesecake (check out my Nutella and Vanilla Mousse Slices), etc etc; the possibilities are endless! I hope I can inspire you today to get into the kitchen, whip up this super easy variation of the classic and get creative with what you have in your kitchen. 

I topped the base with a marble-topping made out of a raw-vegan chocolate buttercream and a homemade cookie butter (click here to get the recipe). 

In case you want to eat the buttercream by itself: DO IT. It's so good, I'd take a bath in it.

Vegan Protein-Packed Tiramisu

I'm incredibly happy to announce that i'll be one the bloggers to create recipes for the upcoming website of my favorite protein powder brand Nutrition Plus Germany! It's been a rough year for me, my Instagram and the Blog but getting opportunities like this one really pushes me to keep going, creating and not to give up on things I love: Creating yummy vegan food, drinking green smoothies in cute Cafés and saving the world just a tiny little bit.

However, let's talk coffee. I drink it in the morning, sipping that steaming cup of black gold while I plan my day and listen to relaxing tunes. I drink it during class to keep my head up and sharp in statistics, I drink it on coffee dates with my girls and I drink whenever I like it. You feel me? Don't get me wrong, my main source of liquid is still water ;)

Superfood Chocolate Cups with Peanut Butter Filling

I haven't created a nice raw treat in quite some time so I was really motivated when suddenly the idea of making peanut butter cups crossed my mind. I used to love the peanut butter protein cups by quest nutrition, but they work with whey protein waaaaaay too much and since being vegan I kinda missed those. Why not make my own 'healthy' treats, I thought!
Making raw chocolate is actually the easiest thing eveeeerrr. To get started you basically need coconut oil and cocoa powder. If you have that and maybe some peanut butter (or any kind of nut butter) at home, get in your kitchen and invest the next hour into something reeeaal good.

BEST COOKIES EVER

I made these cookies from scratch, being like "okay let's throw in a little of this.. and some of this...okay now blend! Does this even work? Lemme taste.." and then, I was BLOWN AWAY. I rolled the dough out and stuck it in the freezer for some time and later, I gave it to my flatmate to try. According to his facial expression and how he quickly grabbed another one, I could guess what he was about to say, but I did not expect it to be that praising: "This is among my top 3 eats of the year!" , he said.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOC CHIP MUFFINS // vegan / oil free / soy free

Woa. These are ah-may-zing. 

When I turned 18, my best friends got me a gift coupon on of my favorite restaurants around here. They serve delicious thai food on a very high standard. We had some problems finding a time when everybody was free (I'm moving to Berlin and they're moving as well) but we arranged a lunch date today. 

Yesterday evening Jule asked me if I had any healthy dessert left around but unfortunately I hadn't (or shall I say fortunately because that's why I made these?). However, that only motivated me to make these super moist and easy vegan muffins your family and friends are going to fall in LOVE with. I promise. They're inspired by a recipe the gorgeous Tess Begg posted on her YouTube a few days ago. Make sure to check that out as well for a video demonstration. 

HOMEMADE NUTELLA & VANILLA MOUSSE SLICES with EASY ICE MAGIC // vegan / gluten free

I've been thinking about making such an awesome slice for several weeks now. I searched tons and tons of pinterest boards, Instagram pages (Taline Gabriel, Pana Chocolate & Blendlove are my faves for raw treats, go check them out. Now.) and websites (too many fab ones to pick the best). 

I got the preparation game pretty good - but in the end it was all a massive 'I-just-throw-together-what-I-find' kinda thing, so if you're not 100% happy with the consistency you might want to add a few more dates, nuts or liquid. Just take these measurements as a rough orientation of what went in there then exact numbers you should follow strictly. Have fun with it and experiment because that is - in my opinion - what makes cooking fun and what keeps it interesting. If you don't try out new things, you'll probably won't experience that many failures but you will pretty surely won't accomplish as much. And that does not only apply to cooking ;) 

But now onto the food porn...

For this recipe, I used a homemade vegan nutella recipe by Vanilla Crunch (and slightly adapted it). 

VEGAN NUTELLA 

Ingredients

• 1 cup hazelnuts, raw & whole
• 4 ounces dark vegan chocolate (about 125 grams), for all Germans: for a cheaper option try Moser Dark Chocolate from Aldi
• 3/4 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup organic brown sugar

How-To

1. Pre-heat oven to 190°C. 
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the hazelnuts on top. Roast for about 15 minutes (or until the skin starts peeling back).
3. Meanwhile, break the chocolate in pieces and place it in a medium sized bowl. 
4. Combine sugar & coconut milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted completely. 
5. Take out the hazelnuts and, using a kitchen towel, start rubbing them until their skin comes off (it's completely fine if there's still some skin left on but the majority should be removed). 
6. Place the hazelnuts in a food processor or high speed blender and process them until they become a fine flour. Add in chocolate ganache and keep blending until your mixture is smooth. 
7. Taste. Yum. 

CHOC SLICES 

Base 

• 1/2 cup hazelnut meal
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut 
• 3/4 cup dates
• 2 tsp cocoa powder (or carob powder)

1. Process until it becomes a dough-like consistency. 
2. Press in a square mold and store in the freezer while you make the vanilla layer.

Vanilla Macadamia Cheesecake Layer

• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1 cup macadamia nuts (I always use roasted and salted and then wash them until all salt came off because 1. they're WAY cheaper then the unsalted ones and 2. they have a nice roasted taste - just make sure there's no oil added)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup dates 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a food processor or blender, blend until smooth and pour it on top of the nutella brownie layer. 
2. Put back in the freezer and let it sit for about 2 hrs. Yup, sorry it really takes that long!

Chocolate Mousse Layer

• 1 cup Homemade Vegan Nutella (see recipe above), room temperature
• 1 cup full-fat coconut cream, room temperature

1. Make sure both of your ingredients are not too cold or otherwise you'll have a really hard time bringing them together. 
2. Just like the Vanilla Layer, simply blend everything together until smooth. Add on top of the Vanilla Layer and put in the fridge for 12+ hrs to completely set. 

Take it out of your mold and begin slicing your 'cheesecake'. Top with come chocolate ice magic and voila! Mouthgasm guaranteed.

HOMEMADE ICE MAGIC 

• 1 tbsp maple syrup (or agave)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp cocoa powder

1. Mix with a fork. 
2. Dizzle over cheesecake slices.

BERLIN & PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH // vegan

I was in Berlin last week looking for a room to rent (I found a super pretty one!) and while we were running from house to house, there were still a few moments to relax and enjoy the amazing vegan food the capital of Germany has to offer.

For breakfast on Friday we went to Daluma, a small café that offers breakfast, acai bowls, juices, coffee & entrees. I had some chia pudding with nut topping and it was deliiiiish.

For dinner we chose an omnivore "fast food" restaurant, that has vegan burgers as well: Schiller. If you're in Berlin, try the "Anmut und Würde", it is beyond amazing.

If you're more of a brunch girl (or boy), try OhLaLa. The vegan pawlova tasted just like "the real thing", I promise! And they have pretty cool drinks as well.

Keep an eye on my blog to find out more about vegan options in Berlin!

However, we ended up shopping some stuff at Veganz and I found the eatable cookie dough by Eat Pasty in their fridge. I got the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip version and OH MY GOD...


Oh. My. God.


Vegan cookies (and their dough) just got to the next level. I really love this stuff, it's crazy!

But unfortunately it's made with white flour, sugar, palm oil and other not-so-healthy ingredients (but vegan and they also have gluten-free options). Sounded like something to healthify, right?

Imagine this: Eat Pasty Cookie Dough container on the counter, me reading ingredients and going through the pantry to find healthier options, eye-balling the measurements and not really having a clue what I'm doing.

Then imagine: Magic happens.
The dough comes out perfect the first time (it really it eat pastry because I ate a few tablespoons before baking).

I popped it into the fridge and whipped up some chocolate (recipe for this coming very soon, I'm planning a bigger post on this).

While the chocolate was setting, I ate a little more of the dough and got happier and happier.

After chopping up one chocolate bar and adding it to the mixture, I finally baked the cookies and - no surprise - they came out of the oven just as perfect as they were before!

NOTE: this recipe is boyfriend and mom approved (basically a impossible combination) so feel free to offer them to your folks as well (and don't tell them they're healthy and vegan at first).

* To make this recipe lower in histamine, sub the banana for a green one (if tolerated) or some apple sauce as well as the peanut butter for some almond butter or pumpkin seed or sunflower seed butter. Have fun with it and experiment!