Kabocha & Kaki Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Who doesn’t love a sweet and fudgy brownie ? Autumn is the season for my favourite fruit persimmon, known as kaki in Japan . There are two types one is called Fuyu  this one is the one I love it has a squat like shape and is so sweet and jewel like inside . It can be eaten like an apple . The other is Hachiya which has a longer shape with a little point at the bottom ( almost heart shaped ) this one is so nasty if you don’t wait for it to be over ripe so much so that I just avoid them altogether. The perfect Fuyu just yields slightly to the touch .

It’s also the season for lots of different types of pumpkins and squashes, in Japan the one you see most often at the farmers market is kabocha, a winter squash and this is what I will be using for my brownies along with kaki.

First  half a medium size kabocha, scoop out the seeds and steam until the skin is falling away from the flesh. This should yield about 1 cup of kabocha when you scoop it away from the green flesh. Leave to cool.

Then add this to a food processor with x1 over ripe kaki ( persimmon ) also in the UK known as Sharon fruit ) you will need to cut it in half and scoop out the sweet flesh ( do not put the outer skin in ).

Then add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of almond butter, 1 teaspoons of vanilla essence/extract, 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil/butter and the water from a can of chick peas. Blend this together until smooth. Then add 200g of almond flour ( if you have a nut allergy use oat flour ) 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda, a pinch of salt and 4 tablespoons of raw cacao powder. Then blend again until mixed. Then fold in if you like some chocolate chips or walnuts ( I actually added both ). Spoon out into a brownie pan lined with parchment paper and evenly spread out. I added a few more walnuts to the top. Bake in a moderate oven until the brownie is crispy on the top. Take out the oven and allow to cool before cutting into squares.

This brownie I think is best served warm with soy cream or ice cream and makes a lovely dessert.