Discover my delicious gluten free vegan blondies recipe! Simple, tasty, and free of refined sugar. Perfect for a guilt-free treat.
Healthy and delicious gluten free vegan blondies recipe without refined sugar
These gluten-free vegan blondies are a delicious and versatile dessert option that can easily be adapted to suit your taste preferences. By using sweet potato puree, vegan butter, ground almonds, and a variety of nuts and fruits, you can create unique and flavorful blondies that are also peanut-free. The recipe offers several variations, such as coffee and walnut, coconut and pineapple/banana, and apple and cinnamon, allowing you to experiment with different flavors and ingredients.
In addition to being gluten-free and vegan, these blondies are also made without refined sugar, making them a healthier alternative to traditional baked treats. The recipe includes helpful tips on how to substitute peanut butter in baking, how to toast nuts in an air fryer, and how to zest citrus fruit. Whether you’re looking for a new dessert recipe or simply enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, these sweet potato blondies are a must-try for any baker.
Indulge in guilt-free bliss with these heavenly treats! 🌟
Hi, and welcome to today’s episode, in which I make some gluten-free vegan sweet treats, which is one recipe with two variations! I made some gluten-free vegan brownies a few months ago, and at the time when I made that, I thought it would probably work as a blondie recipe as well I’m going to a potluck dinner tonight, and I thought, “That’s going to be a great opportunity for trying out some blondies using the brownie video!” [LAUGH] If you haven’t come across a potluck dinner before; typically it’s held at someone’s house, and everybody who’s attending brings a different dish, or some nibbles, or drinks, that kind of thing.
It kind of takes the pressure off the person hosting so they don’t have to make dinner for everybody We’ve affectionately dubbed ours as the Dietary Losers Dinner Club because, obviously, there’s a vegan There’s a celiac, so no gluten We’ve got a peanut allergy, a soy allergy, all kinds of different things With the blondies, I’m also going to take a couple of salads I think I’ll do a potato salad and then also the cauliflower and pineapple and preserved lemon one I made a couple of weeks ago.
I’ll link to both of those in the description for you App/arently today is one of those days; I’ve just gone to set everything up and discovered my camera; the on/off switch there had somehow flicked itself on Or I assume something’s… when it was in my basket, I assume something’s hit it Which is the second time this has happened It’s really frustrating, aaaargh! So I’m now having to use my close-up camera to do the wides, and then fall back on my phone to do the close-ups I do have spare batteries for it; they’re all dead!.
For lots of more plant-based recipes and camera equipment calamities; like this video and subscribe to the channel Tap the Bell icon if you want to get in alert as soon as new one published I cooked all the sweet potato off already This was… I’m going to say 1350g of sweet potato And I cooked it in the microwave I did 20 minutes in total; did 5 minutes, turned everything over, another five, another five, another five And then I’ve stirred it a couple of times once it’s been in the sieve,.
Just to let the steam escape so it dries them out a little bit more As ever with my videos, I’ll put any recipe notes, some tips down in the description, so I’ll give you a few different ideas on how to cook your sweet potato Going to use a potato ricer Works in the same way as a garlic press Just going to fill up the chamber And then squeeze it through We need 255g of the sweet potato, about a cup And I’ve just started preheating the oven to 170, which is going to be around 235 maybe?.
Just realized I’ve not discussed the flavours, so I’ll do that now so I don’t forget One version is going to be lemon, blueberry and macadamia nuts And then the second is going to be orange, cranberry and hazelnuts The sweet potato; the reason I’m using it is cuz it gives a nice amount of sweetness without having to add lots of sugar And I’m going to use maple syrup as well, so it’s kind of no refined sugar The brownie recipe that I did was based on a recipe I’d found on Minimalist Baker That one used peanut butter, and we’ve got a peanut allergy in the DLDC I’ve been trying to think of what to do,.
And I’ve done a bit of Googling to see what peanut butter actually does in baking It seems to be added for moisture and also to help bind things This recipe might fail completely or might end up with kind of fudge, but it’ll still tastes good So I’m going to try and use butter and ground almonds, see what that does Because I don’t know what ratio to do this in, I thought I’ll do different ratios in each and then I’ve got something to work from in the future One version I’m going to do 50/50 almonds and butter, and then the other I’ll do like 75/25 Yeah, that’ll do, so I’m just going to put this on a gentle heat on the stove I’m adding 160g of maple syrup.
Teaspoon of vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon of salt And then I think I’ll give this a whisk just to combine things, get out any massive lumps I’m going to use citrus zest for the flavour, so lemon zest and orange zest I’m hoping that will be enough If it’s not, I’m going to cheat I’ve got some Sicilian lemon extract and then some Valencia orange extract I’m hoping that I can get there with just the zest, but as a fallback, just so I’m not having to rinse through loads of fruit.
We’ll see I’m using a plain white gluten free flour blend for this one This one’s got rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat There’s no xanthan gum in it This is the same one I used last time so I know it’s not a problem And then I’m also going to be using gluten-free baking powder If you are making this for someone who is gluten-free, please do make sure you get some gluten-free one Some brands use wheat flour in their baking powder so you need to be really careful of.
Things like that, especially if they’re celiac, because it can make them super, super ill I’m going to grate the zest with a Microplane If you’re just using a normal box grater or that kind, what you’re trying to do is avoid the pith, which is the white part under the yellow part Because that white part is quite bitter So I’ll just grate that over the surface And then kind of rotate the fruit around a little bit You can you see the white parts starting to become exposed, so that’s when you need to move away from that.
I’ve decided I’m going to do four lemons Probably three oranges in the other one And I won’t bother with the extract I want to do an experiment, and when we taste everything at the end, then I can say whether or not you need to put the extract in I’m going to add in the melted butter 65g of ground almonds I have no idea if this is going to work as a substitute to peanut butter, but it’s worth a go, right?.
And, almonds are used a flour substitute in baking I’ll leave that to soak in for a minute In the brownies I used a tablespoon and a half of oil I’m not sure if I’m going to use that in this one, just because of the amount of butter that I put in… This is 50g of macadamia nut pieces, I’m just going to break those down a bit more Just use my knife to go through it I toasted it in the air fryer, I think 6 minutes at 160, and then another 5 4 or five at 150 If you’re doing them in the oven, you might just want to go a bit longer.
You could also use, I think, something like almonds, like flaked almonds, or Brazil nuts, that kind of thing in this one That’s all the nuts chopped down, so there’s some quite big chunky bits but then there’s also some quite fine bits In the brownie video I used 60g of flour, but then 50g of cocoa powder So I think I’m probably going to have to replace that powder with more flour I’m going to do like 110 It’s probably around ⅘ of a cup I think this recipe will work equally well with wheat flour as well,.
Or other types of gluten-free flour not a problem Teaspoon of gluten-free baking powder Just going to mix this together I don’t think I’m going to bother with the oil… I can’t decide I’m having one of those decision paralysis moments [LAUGH] I think let’s not bother, why not? Got 85g of blueberries there I think I’m going to try and dust them with a bit of the flour because I’ve heard, apparently, that stops them sinking as much to the batter.
Sprinkle on like half a teaspoon or something The batter is stiff though, so this might be unnecessary The blueberries I’ve got are massive [LAUGH] so I’ve kind of gone through and tried to pick out the smaller ones as much as possible Yeah, let’s do more that’s another 30g of the blueberries Let’s mix this in Trying to be kind of gentle just so I don’t pop the blueberries I looked for dried blueberries but they didn’t have any in the shop Alright, that looks fairly well combined.
I’ve lined a cake tin This is 7 by 7” In the brownie video, I used a glass one that’s 8 by 8, so I’ve got a feeling these are going to end up being a bit thicker But I’ve got two are the same and they fit side by side in the oven which is why I’m using these Drop the mixture in All of the mixture’s in the tin Just going to smooth it out Because of the colour of the sweet potato, these aren’t necessarily going to be blonde,.
They’re going to be more ginger [LAUGH] That’s one done, and then we’re going to roll straight into the next one I’m not going to bother cleaning anything because, you know; a bit of lemon flavour in with the orange is going to be fine So same again; 255g of sweet potato One of the perks of using the potato ricer is that you don’t have to peel it because the peel stays behind This needs to be 35g 160 of maple syrup.
1 teaspoon of vanilla And ¼ teaspoon of salt I didn’t add it in the last one, but I’m going to add… instead of doing a tablespoon and a half of oil, I’m going to do another tablespoon and a half of butter, because the last mixture is quite thick wasn’t it? Go in with the whisk again Got three oranges, we’ll zest those Same again on the Microplane Give this a mix.
I’m going to do 95g of the almonds Let’s call it a cup of the ground almonds We’ll get those mixed in now, so they can be absorbing And we’ve got 50g of toasted hazelnuts so I’m just going to do the same and break those down That’s the hazelnuts all chopped Dump those in I’m going to use dried cranberries in these Start with half a cup I think I think I’m just going to chop them a little bit, I want them kind of in half-ish.
For these, you could use any kind of dried fruit that you like really, but I thought the cranberry Cuz they’re a little bit tangy, I thought that’d be quite nice in there with the sweet potato and the hazelnuts are a bit sweet Then we’ll add the butter I’ll do the 110 G of gluten-free flour ⅘ of a cup Teaspoon of baking powder We’ll just work those in together, taking time to scrape the bottom of the bowl, make sure there’s no huge bits of flour Grab the other cake pan.
A good tip for making sure your baking paper doesn’t just pop out; give it a really good scrunching up You can see the texture, it’s kind of crinkly And again just go in and level it all off I mean, the smells coming out of both, even without any heat, they smell very citrus-like, so hopefully that’s a good sign Might give them both a bit of a smack down, just to even it if I can Just going to put down tea towel [BANG BANG BANG].
I’ve just put those in the oven side by side, kind of second from top shelf When I did the brownies, the cooking time in the recipe was 28 to 32 I think it was I’ve gone 10° cooler because they are a little bit thicker, so I’ve extended the time up to 30 and then I’ll stick a skewer in, and then just keep baking Cuz I don’t want the top to get really dark before the middle is cooked through In the original recipe, I don’t know if the temperature they used, which was 180; I don’t know if that was for a fan oven which mine is If you’re using a convection fan oven, you need to go 20° cooler With the brownies, it was kind of tricky to see cuz they were very dark so you couldn’t.
Really see how much colour was on there so this will give me a much better idea Then I’ll take them out, put them on racks and let them cool completely Then we’ll come back and do some eating! So our little blondie/ginger are out of the oven and looking pretty tasty It’s tricky to say if the texture is the same as it was on the brownies because obviously the brownies are very dark, you don’t get a sense of detail really But it’s kind of dense and fudge-like So it might not be exactly right but it still look quite tasty If I squeeze it, it does kind of bounce back, it’s not just collapsing.
S that’s a good sign is baked all the way through In the end, I had them in the oven half an hour at 170, and then I upped it to 180 and did another 10 minutes When I stuck a skewer in, the end was coming out a little bit covered in goo, so I thought just do another 10 They did start getting more colour on them, obviously, the longer they were in there So maybe do 175 for 35 minutes, that might be worth a try I’m going to go with the lemon and blueberry Mmmm, yummy!.
Maybe a little bit too much blueberry in there I think that’s making it wetter, but the flavour and the texture actually is quite firm It’s nice, I thought it was going to be a bit like pumpkin pie kind of thing, but it’s not There’s a lovely amount of sweetness There’s some really nice textures Cuz the top of it is a little bit crispy, the inside nice and soft and tender, then you get the nuts And very lemony as well, like perfect amount of lemon flavour Try the orange one.
Mmmm Again, nice amount of orange flavour Nice texture I’m trying to figure out if there’s a discernible difference in texture between the two versions It’s kind of hard to work out I don’t think there is a massive amount of difference The blueberry ones; the juice from the blueberries I suspect, cuz they’ve all burst, so I suspect that’s making it a little bit wetter But it’s not impacting it negatively in any way.
Try and do a kind of side by side shot of the filling for you This one feels maybe a little bit less uniform in texture Whereas this feels tiny bit more fudge like I’m not describing it terribly well, but those are the words that are coming to mind I think this one’s perhaps a bit softer, which would make sense cuz there’s more nuts in this one, so it would be a bit firmer They’re equally delicious I’ll maybe look at the costs of ground almonds and stuff when I edit The one with more butter,.
Less almonds I suspect that’s probably going to be the cheaper one to make I’m pretty sure ground almonds are more expensive than vegan butter As I press on it as well, this one, the hazelnut, orange and cranberry, feels ever so slightly tighter But yeah, equally cracking! In my opinion, neither of them need the extract, but by all means feel free to add some in made maybe do half a teaspoon, and then try the batter and then if you want more, add another half teaspoon try And try to get extract rather than flavouring.
Flavouring is artificial, whereas extract is natural, so it’s the oils that they pull out of the fruit itself I did initially think about maybe trying coffee and walnut ones, inspired by that cake I made a while back In the end I just decided to go lighter and kind of fruity But I think the coffee and walnut ones would be really good If I think of any other variation ideas, I’ll stick them down either in the description or the pinned comment so have a look through both If you’ve got any requests or suggestions to do more vegan and possibly also gluten-free goodies,.
Let me know down in the comments and I’ll see what I can do for you The ingredients for the blondies were bought with the generous support of my people over on Patreon Having that extra bit of cash really does help month-to-month, letting me help, you know; spread the joy of plant-based deliciousness If you’d like to sign up, give a bit of support, but also in return get some bonus content, film and TV chat; I’ll leave the link down in the description for you If you’d like lots more plant-based recipe ideas that are sometimes sweet, sometimes savoury, and always delicious; like this video and subscribe to the channel Look for the bell icon and tap that.
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