Recipe: Planet-friendly chocolate brownies

Ingredients

👉 Click on the "i" icon to learn more about the ingredients:

Coconut oil: 7 tbsp

Eco-tip: Coconut oil is a great vegan substitute for butter.

Dark Chocolate: 200g

Dark chocolate can be more environmentally friendly and healthy. No milk is used, reducing the impact caused by dairy farming, and there’s less sugar than milk chocolate. It’s even been linked to lowering blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.

Choose chocolate and cocoa that has come from sustainable sources. Seek out products with Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, or UTZ certifications.

These labels demonstrate that the producer has met the required criteria that demonstrate their product has a decreased environmental impact and improves the lives of farmers.

Look out for the RSPO logo too. This can also be used to demonstrate a product has only used sustainable palm oil.

Ripe banana: 100g

By using banana in your recipe you're able to reduce the sugar used, which is good for your health and good for the planet.

Caster sugar: 150g

Chose sugar which has the Bonsucro certification label. This means the producer has met the required criteria that demonstrate they've reduced the environmental and social impacts of their sugarcane production.

Feeling adventurous? Why not try replacing the sugar with organic honey? There are some great tips on how to substitute sugar for honey available here.

Flax eggs: 4 servings

Eco tip: Flax eggs are a smart but simple vegan alternative to regular eggs. To make one serving of flax eggs, mix one tablespoon ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water.

Plain flour: 100g

If possible, try to buy locally sourced flour. Reducing the distance a product needs to travel from the source to your plate will reduce its planetary impact.

Baking powder: 1 tsp

Cocoa: 30g

Choose chocolate and cocoa that has come from sustainable sources. Seek out products with Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, or UTZ certifications.

These labels demonstrate that the producer has met the required criteria that demonstrate their product has a decreased environmental impact and improves the lives of farmers.

Look out for the RSPO logo too. This can also be used to demonstrate a product has only used sustainable palm oil.

Tuesday, 7th July is World Chocolate Day. To celebrate this day, we're sharing our recipe for these sustainable, environmentally-friendly chocolate brownies. They're soft, gooey, and - best of all - good for the planet!

Takes 40-50 Minutes
Serves up-to 12

Method

STEP 1: Buying ingredients

Choose products that have come from sustainable sources:

Seek out products with Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, or UTZ certifications. These labels demonstrate that the product has had a reduced environmental impact.
Look out for the RSPO logo. This can also be used to demonstrate that a product has only used sustainable palm oil.
Chose sugar which has the Bonsucro certification label. This means the producer has met the required criteria that demonstrate they've reduced the environmental and social impacts of their sugarcane production.

👉 Eco tip: Look for products that come in recycled, recyclable and reusable packaging. Wherever possible avoid single-use plastics.

STEP 2: Prep

Line your baking tin with baking paper.
Set your oven to 160°C / 320°F (180°C / 356°F for fan ovens) or gas 4.

👉 Eco tip: Only start to pre-heat your oven shortly before you are ready to put your brownie batter in. This will save energy
👉 Eco tip: Check out one of the many eco-friendly baking paper alternatives available which can either be reused or recycled (traditional baking paper can't be recycled).

STEP 3: Melting the chocolate

👉 Eco tip: Dark chocolate can be more environmentally friendly and healthy than milk chocolate. No milk is used, reducing the impact caused by dairy farming, and there’s less sugar than milk chocolate. It’s even been linked to lowering blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.

👉 Eco tip: Choose chocolate and cocoa that has come from sustainable sources - seek out products with Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, or UTZ certifications, signifying that the producer has met the required criteria to demonstrate their product has a decreased environmental impact and improves the lives of farmers.

Chop chocolate into small chunks and add ~7 tablespoons of coconut oil
Melt in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Cool to room temperature.

👉 Eco tip: Smaller chocolate chunks will melt faster and require less energy.
👉 Eco tip: Coconut oil is a useful vegan substitute for butter

STEP 4: Mash your bananas and mix in your flax eggs (4 servings)

👉 Eco tip: Flax eggs are a great vegan alternative for regular chicken eggs. To make one serving of flax eggs, mix one tablespoon ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water.

Mash your banana with a fork or potato masher.
Whisk your sugar and flax eggs until the mixture is light & fluffy.
Fold your mashed banana into the mixture.

STEP 5: Folding it together

Fold chocolate and flax egg mixtures together.
Sift in the cocoa, baking powder and flour.
Fold these all into the chocolate and flax egg mixture to create a batter.

STEP 6: Bake

Pour your batter into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is cracked but the middle just set.
Cool before you remove it from the tin and cut.

👉 Eco tip: If possible, try to observe your progress without opening the oven door. Each time the oven is opened, heat is lost - requiring more energy in the long-run.

STEP 7: Enjoy!