Makes 12 brownies
If there’s a better combination than chocolate and raspberries then I don’t know it. These brownies are dense and truffle-like, with lots and lots of melt-in-your-mouth raspberry flavor from both jam and whole berries. And here’s the amazing thing…they’re low in fat, high in fiber and made with whole wheat pastry flour! But don’t let that deter you, you’d never know it.
I’ve been hard at work developing healthier dessert recipes for the upcoming Forks Over Knives cookbook! I said “healthier” not “healthy” because dessert, no matter how healthy, is an indulgence. But if we’re going to indulge (and we definitely are), why not try to make those treats as nutritious as possible? Developing these treats has been a fun challenge and I’m getting a kick out of experimenting with whole grain flours, natural sweeteners and alternative sources of fat. I also like that the recipes don’t have to be too restrictive; some fats are cool to use in moderation, like nut butters, avocado and chocolate.
But back to these brownies! Valentine’s Day is coming up and you’ll surely want to make these for the one you love. Maybe you’d like to scatter brownies on the bed instead of rose petals?
A few recipe notes:
~This is one of those rare occasions where frozen fruit actually works better than fresh, so don’t worry about raspberries being out of season. The batter is very thick and I’m pretty sure that fresh raspberries would get crushed as you tried to knead them in.
~Use a naturally sweetened fruit spread if you can find one.
~For the dry sweetener, I use Sucanat, but any sugar will do.
~To get brownies as fudgy as possible, be careful not to overbake. These really benefit from chilling in the fridge for a few hours.
~To slice brownies, use a blunt knife (a butter knife or a plastic knife) and dip in water after each slice.
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup raspberry fruit spread
1/2 cup sugar or other dry sweetener (see note)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen raspberries
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper and lightly mist with non-stick cooking spray.
Melt the chocolate in either a double boiler or the microwave. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, vigorously mix together the jam, sweetener, and apple sauce. Stir in the extracts and the melted chocolate.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix very well until a stiff dough forms. Fold in the raspberries. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. It will be very thick, you’ll probably need to use your hands to evenly spread the batter.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, they should still be soft and gooey. If a tester toothpick comes out clean, they’re overbaked. Remove from oven and let cool completely. These taste especially good and fudgy after being refrigerated for a few hours.
I made these last week with strawberries instead. (raspberries are too expensive now) Many of my non veg friends said they liked them, so that’s nice. I have to admit I wasn’t in love with them…. don’ t know …they didn’t do much for me. I think it had to do with the whole wheat flour and even though it’s not ‘healthy’ I would add more sugar… they didn’t seem sweet enough
I used brown sugar
Just made these for the 4th time and I adore them. Personally I don’t like them with almond essence but then i’ve never been a fan of the flavour anyway. I’m just about to take a double amount over to a friends for a girls night in so we will have to see what my 7 non vegan friends think. I think it highly unlikely they will notice anything at all other than that they are some of the best brownies ever!
Isa, I love using your dessert recipes when I make cannibutter/ cannioil~ I don’t even taste the weed and they always come out too good! It’s hard to only eat one 😉
I just popped this in the oven using cannioil, a mashed banana, coconut palm sugar, and an added packet of wheat grass powder. It just seemed like a good combo with the rasp +choc (also thickened up the batter) Also tossed in Macadamia nuts. All organic! Can’t wait to taste ’em!
urpdurp.blogspot.com
Thank you for the healthier dessert option!
Delicious, especially after thoroughly chilled. So truffley and fudgey! I made a blueberry version because my husband doesn’t like raspberries (crazy man:) and they were wonderful.
Oh my friggin´ god, these were by far the best brownies I have ever made (and I have made quite a few batches in my day). I will be making these time and time again. Thanks Isa, you are a star!!
ps – I used Dutch appelstroop instead of jam (essentially very thick apple syrup with no added sugar) and sweetened apple sauce instead of the unsweeetened variety and the batch was just the perfect amount of sweetness for this household.
These were so incredible! I just made a triple batch, and I can honestly say that I think that they are some of the yummiest brownies that I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I was a little nervous that they wouldn’t turn out right because of tripling the recipe, but all three batches were delicious. Isa, you are my kitchen goddess. I have never made anything of yours that didn’t become a new favorite. Thank you!
Oh man that looks tasty.
I made these the other day with a couple of changes. I used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat (what I had), left out the almond extract since I didn’t have any and I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of unsweetened…oh and I also added 1/8 of a cup of oil to the chocolate as it was melting.
I added the oil because I have never baked with applesauce (I’m not vegan) before and from the little reading I did, some people noted that baking with applesauce led to a cakier texture? Next time I will leave the oil out as I really don’t think this recipe is at any risk of being caky.
I will also go for the unsweetened chocolate chips next time since it’s ALMOST too sugary with the semi-sweet. I used semi-sweet since it was what I had on hand and there were quite a few comments saying that this was not sweet enough.
I ended up cooking this for probably close to half an hour and the middle still was not cooked enough. I took it out because the sides had firmed up and this recipe warns against overcooking. However, even after refrigerating overnight the middle is still the consistency of a rather thick, fudgy pudding rather than a brownie. The sides that firmed up taste delicious, though. The pudding part tastes just fine as well but since I was looking for a brownie, I was a little disappointed. I DID use pyrex lined with aluminum since the only non-pyrex baking pan I had was too big. Maybe that had something to do with it, I don’t know. Next time I might try mixing the mixture halfway through so that the sides don’t get too baked with the middle not baked enough. That and up the bake time significantly. Also, the additional little bit of oil might’ve had something to do with it but I don’t think that’s the entire reason as I didn’t really add THAT much oil to the recipe.
For me, the raspberry jam added a nice fruity tang to the chocolate and I loved it. My fiance did not like it though and he’s rare to criticize anything I make. However, it’s just because he doesn’t like fruit with his chocolate…go figure….who doesn’t like fruit with their chocolate?! 😛
Overall really yummy and once I figure out a way to make the whole thing a bit more brownie-like rather than pudding-like it will be perfect. Probably one of my favorite brownie recipes to date…even with the texture issues.
These look heavenly! I just recently came across your blog (though I know you’ve been popular for a while). I can’t wait to explore it more!
Ok, so my local natural foods co-op sells individual vegan rasberry brownies, they’re great and I love my co-op, but they’re a bit pricey. That being said…soo need to make these. They look delicious and fudy and amazing. Love the simpleness of the recipe too.
I just made these and they turned out awesome!! They are super rich and go great with plain Almond milk!!
Wow, amazing! Kinda hungry now 🙂
Dear Haters, if you followed the recipe, you get exactly what is described in it – a fudgy, slightly bitter, yet sweet and delicious raspberry truffle brownie. That’s what it tastes like. If you don’t like it, then you don’t like raspberry truffle brownies just like I don’t like stewed tomatoes. Guess what I do with stewed tomatoes? That’s right, nothing. So instead of bashing the recipe just accept that you are not a “raspberry truffle brownie” kind of gal and move on. We the “raspberry truffle brownie” kind of people LOVE this recipe. As for those who modified the recipe and it didn’t work out… It happens. Try Isa’s version, for real. Peace.
Yummy! I just made these and it turned out delicious. Today went to buy all ingredients, except got fresh raspberries (expensive ones were too pricy) and froze them myself. (Does anyone know why frozen ones are better than fresh?) I only used about 1/3 cup of berries as I did not want too soft and too puddingy. Oh, and added few walnuts – yummy.
Turned out great! I added a tad of oil into the batter and a little more apple sauce and raspberries. Then I baked it for 20 minutes. It’s chewy and fudgey but just perfect.
Unbelievable. SOOOOO good. How do you do it Isa? You are magical. I did 1/2 the sugar and a dropper-ful of liquid stevia and it came out wonderful. My stevia-hating friends couldn’t taste it.
You’ve given baked goods back to me! I have been pretty good at vegan cooking, but baking has eluded me. You are amazing…thanks for all the great recipes!
Wow, these turned out really really tasty! We used my mom’s homemade plum jam, and it adds this very pleasant tang!
Me and my best friend made it for a gathering I am having tonight, but we ate half the pan! Worth it!
This looks so good! I’ll have to try it. I love brownies and love raspberris! What a great combinaton.
I recently bought the “Forks Over Knives” cookbook and was reminded how much I enjoyed this recipe. So I made it again. I’m very picky about brownies and I really like these. It’s amazing that these work, being so low in fat and sugar, but they really do–so fudgy and mmmmm, the berries! I look forward to trying your other dessert recipes in the book.
Starving student here who follows your site (with Mad love) and can’t wait to try ’em out. Almost too healthy for me. <3
that is sooo good! after baking it in the afternoon i put it in the refrigerator over night and…yes…had some for breakfast…
i’m not a very experienced baker but i was thinking that it could be really good with a little alcohol in it, for example kahula or bailey’s… do you think it would be a good idea? if yes, how much would you add?
thanks for the recipe!
These. Are. Incredible. The inside is SO trufflesque and delicious and I have totally just eaten them all myself. THANK YOU!
Sadly, this has been my only failed recipe from you. I think the mistake I made was using a dry sweetener instead of agave or just my regular organic granulated sugar. Other than that they would have been super tasty, but as it was they literally had no sweetness to them AT ALL. I was beyond depressed that they didn’t come out. Oh well, I’ve give it a try again with agave instead of sucanat 🙂
If I can’t find whole wheat pastry flour can I substitute regular pastry flour or all purpose flour?
Also, can I use brown sugar? I am making these for a friend who is vegan and she substitutes maple syrup for sugar…just wondering if it needs to be a granular sweetener ( as you have in the notes).
Thanks!
My mouth is watering just looking at these brownies… I wish desserts COULD be healthy!
This was awesome, I added 1/4 cup of grated beets too, thanks
I just baked a batch and substituted frozen mango for raspberries. Thanks for the recipe!
Argh, I’m dying to try this recipe but you can’t get applesauce in Ireland! I’ve tried making my own applesauce for brownie recipes but they always come out ridiculously sweet and unpleasant – any ideas for substitutions??
Can you make a prune puree? I’m always in shock when I remember that applesauce isn’t a staple everywhere.
Om to the nom! These are AMAZING. I’m sitting here eating one as I write, having totally impressed several friends and my sister with these over the weekend (all of whom are non vegan, don’t think they quite believed there was no dairy or eggs hiding in there). I replaced the almond essence with some orange extract and used 75% cocoa dark chocolate as I didn’t have any unsweetened stuff. They turned out to be probably the best chocolate brownies I have ever had, and I am something of a brownie fiend. This recipe has gone straight onto my all time favourites and I can’t wait to bake another batch!
Jaysus, the are incredibly good. My mixture was too dry ( I’m not a measurer, as such 🙂 ) so I added a few splashes of almond milk which incorporated everything well.
I’m a new vegan and will be taking these to family tonight- family that will, without a doubt, be blown away by the fact tha it’s not all tofu and broccoli!
Reading the above comments,I’ve just realised why they were dry- I steamed and mashed apples to make the applesauce. I don’t think applesauce means what I think it means….( I’m in Australia)