Blogging, social media, stats, engaging with followers, working with brands, finding sources of inspirationg… These were just some of the things I discussed with fellow Manchester bloggers at the recent #WeBlogMCR event, hosted by Holly, Emmylou and myself at the incredible iHub Office in City Tower.
Bringing together 15 of some of our city’s finest creative folk who cover everything from health food to fitness, fashion to interiors, plus let’s not forget travelling and beauty, the evening was buzzing with so much passion for our ‘little space on the internet’, as Holly calls it.
With so much going on in and around London, #WeBlogMCR is about celebrating some of the talent on offer up North, so this was a wonderful opportunity to kickstart this community of bloggers which we hope will grow as we host more regular and extended meet-ups. So keep your eyes out!
Along with some bottles of fizz and savoury snacks to keep us fuelled throughout the evening, I was keen to bake something healthy but sweet. I promised I’d share the recipe for these gooey, rich brownies (which are of course, gluten and dairy-free and contain no refined sugars)- so here we go!
Ingredients:
For the brownies –
- 1 cup cooked sweet potato cubes
- 2 eggs (I used the Happy Egg Co)
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water – I used Percol
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (I used Indigo Herbs)
- 1 cup gluten-free flour (I used Dove’s Farm)
- ½ cup almond flour or ground almonds (I used Sukrin)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons cocoa or cacao powder (I used Bioglan)
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar (I used The Coconut Company)
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
For the frosting –
- ½ cup cooked sweet potato cubes
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (I used Lucy Bee)
- 3 tablespoons Quark or Coyo coconut yogurt for dairy-free
Get baking!
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a rectangular baking tin.
- Place the cooked sweet potato, eggs, tahini, vanilla, dissolved coffee (make sure this has cooled down first) and maple syrup in a blender and whizz up until smooth. I used my Nutri Ninja Auto IQ
- .
- Mix together the flour, almonds, baking powder, cacao or cocoa powder and coconut sugar in a large bowl.
- Pour in the blended sweet potato mixture and fold in gently. Stir in the walnuts then spoon into the tray and spread out evenly.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until risen and firm to the touch, then leave to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes. Cut into 12 slices.
- Meanwhile, whizz together the frosting ingredients until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes until needed (it will firm up while chilling).
- When you’re ready to serve, spread some frosting on top of a brownie, decorate with walnuts or even cacao nibs. Enjoy!
