Chocolate ‘Sweet Potato’ Brownies with Cranberries

Makes 12 brownies

To finish off with something gooey and sweet, try our ‘healthier’ chocolate brownies made with sweet potatoes and cranberries.

• 4 large sweet potatoes, washed

• 6 tbsp nut butter of your choice (peanut or almond work really well. You can use either smooth or crunch nut butter depending on how you like the texture of your brownies)

• 1 tsp of the nut butter oil

• Pinch of salt

• 4 tbsp cocoa powder

• 4 tbsp maple syrup

• 100g (3.5 oz) fresh cranberries, washed

• For that ‘Christmassy’ flavour, add 1 tsp of mixed spice

(cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg)

1 Preheat oven to 170°C/350°F/Gas 3.

2 Wash the sweet potatoes really well and place on a flat baking tray. Bake in the oven for 1 hour, until tender.

3 Let the sweet potato cool down a little before removing the skin. Empty the flesh into a mixing bowl (Keep the skin and roast these with a little oil and sea salt. These are great for healthy snacking as well as a replacement for bread croutons on top of soup — no waste!).

4 Using a fork, mash the sweet potato flesh until smooth.

5 Add all additional ingredients and mix well.

6 Using a glass or deep-dish baking tray (approx. 26cm length and 20cm width), put a piece of baking paper to cover the bottom before pouring the mixture into the dish.

7 Bake in the oven for 1 hour, until the mixture has firmed up.

8 Leave to cool and enjoy with some plantbased plain yoghurt, cream or ice-cream.

Written by plant-based chef and nutritionist, Guilda Akopians of Rooted Vegan Kitchen, rootedvegankitchen.com