“True strength is when you can break a bar of chocolate into four pieces with your bare hands – then just eat one.” – Unknown

For chocolate lovers, the struggle between balancing your cravings for more versus what you really should eat can be a little frustrating. Since my boys discovered the enchanting world of chocolate, it’s been a constant challenge to try and make all things chocolate a little healthier.

Chocolate milk, chocolate cake, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookies – there’s no end to what you can make with good quality chocolate. But what is good quality chocolate? An ordinary slab of milk chocolate (100g) contains about 50% of sugar while a 70% dark chocolate can contain around 30% sugar. That’s quite a bit a sugar, and you can see why the darker the chocolate, the better it is for you. Even dark chocolate should be eaten in moderation.

 To add a healthier spin on this decadent dark chocolate brownie recipe try the following tips:

1.      Make it dairy free with a good quality dairy-free butter alternative.

2.      Add veggies! Substitute 1 cup of butter with ¾ cup cooked and mashed sweet potato or pumpkin (obviously no butter flavour here).

3.      Use min. 70% dark chocolate. It gives the brownies a richer flavour with less sugar and some brands are dairy-free.

4.      Coconut sugar is an easy substitute for white sugar in baked products. It’s caramel flavour is not as sweet as white sugar, plus it’s unrefined and does not contain additives.

5.      Use good quality unbleached, preferably organic flour. Wholemeal flour, spelt flour or gluten free flour are good alternatives.

Fudgy DARK Chocolate Brownies (Dairy-free)

250g dairy alternative spread

250g dark chocolate 70%, broken into pieces

200g coconut sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225g wholemeal spelt flour

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4. Grease and line the bottom of a 23cm square baking tin with parchment paper.

2. Melt the spread and chocolate pieces in a saucepan and set aside to cool a little.

3. Beat the eggs, coconut sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture while beating on low speed.

4. Fold in the flour until everything is just combined (no need to over mix). Pour into the prepared baking tin and bake for about 20 – 25 minutes or until the top is firm but the inside is still a little gooey. Don’t be tempted to bake them longer otherwise they will turn out dry.

5. Leave the brownies to cool for 10 minutes in the baking tin, then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into small squares for kids or medium sizes for adults.