Chocolate Date Brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp normal cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp almond essence
• 10 medjool dates
• 100ml espresso + 150ml boiling water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 80g dark chocolate
• 25ml butter
• 100ml olive oil
• 60g Chopped Walnuts
• 7 glazed cherries chopped

Glaze

• 25ml Honey
• 1tsp cocoa

Topping (optional)

• Nougat pieces to
• Icing sugar for dusting

Steps:

Remove the seeds from the dates, add it to a bowl along with the combined warm espresso and boiling water and let it soak for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, blend everything until smooth.

Melt half the dark chocolate (40g) along with 1 tsp of olive oil in the microwave for 1-2 minutes stirring in between. Add the melted chocolate to the blended dates, along with the butter, remaining olive, honey, almond essence and eggs. Blend everything until smooth.

Sift all the dry ingredients together, add it to wet mixture and mix until combined. Add the chopped walnuts, remaining half of the chocolate chopped into chunks, and diced glacéd cherries and fold it in ensuring even distribution.

Pour the mixture into a square or rectangle baking dish lined with baking paper. Bake for 22-23 minutes at 180 degrees. Take out of the oven and let it cool.

Once cooled, mix the honey and cocoa for the glaze then pour over the brownies and spread evenly. Remove the brownies from the baking dish and cut the brownies into slices. (Optional) Add chucks of nought on top of the brownies and dust with icing sugar. Enjoy!