Life Without Chocolate

This is Week 2 of my culinary challenge. One of the food items banned from the prescribed diet is chocolate. I know, I know... so many of us are drooling choco-holics who become choco-gasmic over a thick wedge of flourless chocolate torte, or a fragrant piece of Belgian chocolate truffle. The idea of being sentenced to an existence without chocolate borders on the cruel and inhumane.

To add salt to the wound so to speak, sugars -- both brown and white -- are also banned from the diet. How on earth does one still enjoy life without at least one sliver of sweetness?

That's when I remembered my very own Azuki "Brownie" Cheesecake recipe. It's a "brownie" without chocolate. It's the first semi-elaborate dessert recipe that was entirely my own creation and it was delicious to boot. Those who know me realize that I am the last person to toot my own horn, especially about my culinary abilities. For me to flaunt this success is an indicator of my absolute confidence in its delights.

If you stop to think about the root of chocolate (cacao) it begins with a bean. While the cacao bean is rather bitter -- biting into one is like gnawing on coffee grinds -- there are plenty of other bean varieties that are naturally sweet. Black beans are often used in the West as an alternative to chocolate in dairy-free dessert recipes, especially since it imparts a chocolate brown color when mashed. However, the sweet bean that is a staple across Asian kitchens is the azuki (or adzuki, or aduki) bean. It is a red bean that, IMHO, is equal to chocolate in its depth of flavor and versatility.

The cream cheese layer from my previous recipe had to be omitted due to further restrictions in the diet. Which left me with a rather dense, if lonely-looking layer of "brownie". It seemed necessary to add something bright to the mix. Raspberries were the first thing that came to mind, and so in they went. Walnuts would have been the ideal accompaniment to the azuki flavor, but the diet doesn't allow me to combine the two in the same dish. So I settled for almonds.

Azuki Raspberry "Brownies"
Yields 16 squares

1 can (approx. 520 g) Azuki beans*, mashed coarsely
½ tsp sea salt (unrefined) or less if preferable
½ cup oat flour, sifted
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ cup almonds, chopped or crushed
1 cup (½ pint) fresh raspberries, or thaw out frozen ones if necessary

*Note: some canned Azuki beans in Asian groceries have sugar and/or corn syrup added to them. If you are watching your sugar intake, check the label and pick a can that has the least amount of additives in the ingredient list, or use plain beans and control how much sweetener you add to it. However, my personal preference is to use the canned, "light" versions of the sweetened, whole (not mashed) Azuki beans. They are called Ogura-an (小倉餡) or Tsubu-an (粒餡).

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Mix everything but the raspberries in a large bowl until well-combined.

3. Gently fold the raspberries into the batter, trying not to squash any of them.

4. Line a 9" square baking pan with parchment paper. Let about an inch of the paper to overhang from the edges of the pan -- this will make it easier for you to lift the cake out of the pan when it is ready.

5. Pour the batter into the pan.

6. Bake for 30 min or longer, depending on how soft you like your brownies. Note that as with any brownie recipe, there is a tendency for the cake along the rim of the pan to become spongey and bread-like in texture, whereas the middle pieces will tend to be more gooey like fudge. There's no right or wrong to this: it is entirely up to you. If you don't like a fudgey brownie, then jiggle or tilt the pan to see if the centre is still soft. If it is, the batter hasn't set, so leave it in the oven for another few minutes before you check it again.

7. Allow the cake to cool on a rack before trying to remove it from the parchment or trying to cut it.

[AP: This is an Option #2 recipe.]