Avocado might seem like more of a savoury food, but as we showed last week, it is versatile enough to use in desserts, too!

These deliciously moist and chocolatey brownies use avocado in place of oil or butter, to create an amazing texture and a really moreish taste. Don't worry – once the mixture is mixed and blended well, you'd have no idea these even contained anything other than yummy chocolate!

The avocado icing is optional – the vibrant green colour might be too much for some people, but trust us, it's well worth trying.

Avocado Brownies
Recipe makes 9 large brownies

Ingredients

For the brownies

• 1 large, ripe avocado
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon water
• 100g good quality dark chocolate
• 85g good quality cocoa powder
• 120g caster sugar
• 1 teapsoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt

For the creamy icing (optional)

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 185g icing sugar, sieved

Method

For the brownies

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. ​Grease and line an 8 inch square tin with parchment.
3. Peel avocado, remove stone and mash the flesh with a fork.
4. Mix the avocado, eggs, vanilla and water to form a smooth paste with no chunks (use a food processor if you have one!)
5. Melt the chocolate by placing it in a glass bowl sitting over a saucepan of lightly simmering water, ensuring the bowl does not touch the water. Stir chocolate until melted and remove from heat.
6. Add melted chocolate to the avocado mix and stir gently to combine. Do not over-mix as this will introduce too much air into your batter.
7. Add cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix again until just combined. If the mixture is too thick, another tablespoon of water.
8. Scoop mixture into the lined baking pan, ensuring it is spread out to the edges and that the top is smooth.
9. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until cooked through (test this by checking that a skewer or knife comes out clean if inserted into the brownies).
10. Allow to cool at room temperature before spreading icing on top with a palette knife or spatula.
11. Chill brownies in fridge before eating.
     

For the creamy icing

1. Peel avocado, remove stone and mash flesh with a fork. Place into a mixing bowl.
2. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract.
3. Add icing sugar bit by bit, mixing slowly as you go (by hand or with a mixer) until all icing sugar has been added and you have a spreadable icing.
4. Taste and add more sugar if needed.