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Salted-Cashew Orange Cranberry Brownies

These Salted-Cashew Orange Cranberry Brownies are full of vegan awesomeness.
You may have noticed that I recently posted quite a lot of vegan recipes. I admit it – I was a bit skeptical at first, wondering if things would go smoothly.

After all, just making a green salad day after day cannot be at the heart of a vegan diet. And in fact, I was extremely surprised how versatile it is – thanks also to some vegan friends who introduced to a number of ingredients and ideas.

One of my personal favorites among my vegan recipes are these Salted-Cashew Orange Cranberry Brownies I show you today. I’ll get to them later.

A piece of the Salted-Cashew Orange-Cranberry Brownies in the foreground with more in the background.

Before, I would like to share some thoughts about photography. When I started Contentedness Cooking a while ago, I had no real clue about how to make appealing pictures of what I cooked.

Decoration, setting, lighting, and so on was nothing I had given much thought to. I quickly had to realize that this was utterly naive. On the first pictures I took, my food looked like… a brick of something, hardly recognizable. Trust me, you do not want to see that…

Closeup view to one of the Salted-Cashew Orange-Cranberry Brownies, showing the gooey chocolate inside.

 

A slice of Salted-Cashew Orange-Cranberry Brownies covered in powdered sugar.

OK, after some experimentation, things improved quickly – to a point. I only had a simple point-and-shoot camera. I believe that this was very helpful. After all, what use is the best equipment, if the photographer has no idea what he/she is doing.

Still after a while it turned out the be a severe limitation. Interesting angles, depth of field, sharp closeups… all impossible. So after a while, I decided to upgrade to a DSLR with an reasonable lens. I hope you have noticed that I changed to that camera a couple of posts ago.

Now, with so much more new possibilities to explore, I’m learning again. I can play with depth-of-field, for example, meaning I have to rethink settings, to put something in back- and foregrounds, etc. Anyway, I hope you like the new direction this is taking!

Another closeup to the Salted-Cashew Orange-Cranberry Brownies, on a newspaper.

When it comes to the “Salted-Cashew Orange-Cranberry Brownies”, I cannot find enough words how awesome they are. Flavors of chocolate and coconut mixed with the fresh and fruity aroma of oranges and cranberries, topped by bites of salted cashews. Simple to make, really, but I was blown away. You will be, too!

Collage of two pictures of the Salted Cashew Orange Cranberry Brownies

Salted-Cashew Orange-Cranberry Brownies

Salted-Cashew Orange Cranberry Brownies

Yield: 16
Prep Time: 11 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Total Time: 33 minutes

Salted-Cashew Orange Cranberry Brownies - simple, delicious, vegan. One of the best desserts you ever tried.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup (80 g) dried cranberries
  • 2 cups (250 g) gf flour
  • 1 cup (125 g) organic cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 3/4 cup (175 g) cashew butter
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) agave or maple syrup (or more, if you prefer it sweeter)
  • juice of three oranges pressed + 1 orange zest
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) organic extra virgin coconut oil melted
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) almond yoghurt of choice (I’m going with vanilla)
  • 1 Tbs vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract (optional but delicious)
  • 5 oz (150 g) at least 70% dark vegan chocolate, divided
  • 1 cup (100 g) roasted and salted cashews, divided
  • splash oat milk to thin the batter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven about 375°F (190°C) and prepare a baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Melt 3.5 oz (100 g) of the chocolate in a saucepan or in the microwave.
  3. In the meantime, juice the oranges and melt the coconut oil.
  4. In a bowl, combine the flour, orange juice, vanilla and orange extract, coconut oil, melted chocolate, 1/2 cup (50 g) of the salted cashews, vanilla yoghurt, baking powder and soda, cashew butter, cocoa, cranberries salt and a splash of milk to thin.
  5. Transfer the batter to the pan, sprinkle with the rest of the salted cashew nuts, break the chocolate into small chunks and sprinkle.
  6. Bake for 40 minutes, let sit aside for 10 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 129Total Fat: 4.7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3.2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 50mgCarbohydrates: 21.1gFiber: 0.7gSugar: 12.5gProtein: 1.6g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

Skeptic

Friday 25th of December 2015

Since spelt isn't GF, can I sub the flour with GF and if so, what's the ratio? Is it 1:1 with spelt?

Florian @ContentednessCooking

Friday 25th of December 2015

For sure you can sub with Gf Flour it's the same ratio 1:1!

Manila Spoon

Thursday 14th of May 2015

I love citrus and chocolate together! This is the most creative brownie recipe I have seen - looks totally scrumptious!

Florian @ContentednessCooking

Monday 8th of June 2015

Thank you, Abigail!

miznelliebellie

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

These look so awesome!!! And I absolutely love the way you've laid out the photos! Not only does the recipe look fabulous, but I can tell just by looking at them how delicious they must taste!

Florian @ContentednessCooking

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

Glad you like the pictures and the recipe! I'm pretty sure these brownies are to your taste and I'd be happy when you give these a try! :)

Miryam Quinn Doblas

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

Holy wow. These brownies look terrific. I wish I could have a taste!

Florian @ContentednessCooking

Tuesday 5th of May 2015

Thank you, Miryam! Glad you like the brownies. I'm pretty sure these brownies are to your taste and I'd be happy when you give these a try! :)

chrysta@noshed

Monday 4th of May 2015

You had me at Salted Cashew....yummy!

Florian @ContentednessCooking

Monday 4th of May 2015

Thank you, Chrysta!

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