Of all the chickpea-based alternative cakes, these indulgent but guilt-free vanilla blondies are definitely the most popular variation so far. They are as sweet and delicious as real cake, but low in fat, gluten-free and high in protein as the rely on chickpeas instead of the usual flour-eggs-butter basis.
The more I experiment with chickpeas, the more amazed I am at the versatility this little pulse offers for baking sweet treats. For the past half year or so, I’ve had a batch of chickpea-based cake slices – flavoured with different ingredients, from cocoa to apple and lemons to almond – in my fridge in any given week. They’re my go-to energy-boosting snack for long afternoons in the office, and a healthy treat for whenever I fancy something sweet.
This blondie version happened when I threw some of my favourite vanilla protein (Diet Whey from PhD) into my basic brownie recipe to see what happens. What happened was simply awesome cake!
GLUTEN-FREE VANILLA PROTEIN BLONDIES
Makes one 24cm square tin – ca 16 pieces
1 can (240g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
100g dates
100g vanilla flavoured protein powder (I use PhD Diet Whey)
50g oats*
40g agave nectar
50g peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 tsp baking powder*
250ml milk alternative (I use Oatly or Koko Dairy Free, but almond milk also works)
1 tsp coconut oil for the tin
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Brush a 24cm square (or equivalent size) brownie tin with coconut oil.
Put the oats in a food processor and blitz until they are finely ground. Add all the other ingredients and process everything into a smooth mixture.
Fill the mixture in to the brownie tin, spread evenly, and bake at 175°C for around 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean. It’s ok if you still get a slight wobble in the middle; these are nicer slightly undercooked so they don’t go too dry.
Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into squares or slices.
These blondies keep in the fridge for around a week.
* To ensure the cake is gluten-free us GF-certified oats and baking powder.