Let's just be clear, there needs to be dessert in the house or I get cranky. Actually....scratch that. There needs to be CHOCOLATE in the house or I get cranky. But with insulin resistance (or on the mend from it!) there's not much dessert I can have....or so you'd think.
Lucky for you, I wrote a whole ebook (available here) on sweets that are low-glycemic with barely a drop of sugar in them (I can't say completely sugar free since I do use raspberries...but other than that, no dates, maple syrup, honey, sugar, raisins, none of that!)
I've enjoyed raw brownies made with dates for a long time, topped with chocolate ganache (made with maple syrup) and raspberries...but I wanted to try something even better. Something you can eat without guilt!
Enter....The raw carob brownies...of your dreams.
And yes, while carob doesn't necessarily make everyone's head turn or toes curl, this is actually a glorious marriage of dark beautiful chocolatey goodness. A blend you'd never suspect, but one that works perfectly.
Brownies:
3 cups walnuts
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 scoop sunwarrior protein powder, chocolate (optional)
pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 dropper full of hazelnut or english toffee stevia
scant 1/4 cup water (or herbal coffee if you feel adventurous)
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
Pour the coconut evenly on the bottom of an 8x8 brownie pan. Set aside.
Pulse walnuts in a food processor until they resemble rice. Add in the other ingredients and process until mixture starts to crumble into even smaller bits. As machine is running, start to pour in the water little by little (you may not need all of it) until mixture starts to stick when pressed together between your fingers. Taste for sweetness and adjust with stevia. Pour this mixture in the brownie pan and press down to form a smooth surface.
Ganache:
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup cacao butter, melted
pinch salt
1/2 cup carob powder
2 dropper fulls hazelnut or english toffee stevia
Decorate: freeze dried raspberries and 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
Blend ingredients together in a high performance blender until smooth. You might add a few tablespoons of water if you need to get it running, but try not to if at all possible (it sort of separates)..... The ganache might look lumpy...that's ok. It's not going to be super smooth and that's actually a desired effect (more surface area means you get taste all of that ganache goodness!)
Pour ganache over brownies, and decorate with freeze dried raspberries and the remaining coconut. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut one out and enjoy it...eventually you'll want to tear them out of the pan like an animal, which is ok too (see the photos I enclosed).