Sweet & Balanced by Stacy

About This Recipe
This was one of the first recipes I made when I stopped eating regular desserts. I didn’t expect much — two bananas and cocoa powder didn’t sound like it would come close to the real thing. It did. Dense, fudgy, genuinely chocolatey. The kind of recipe that makes you stop explaining yourself to people and just let them try it.

Why These Ingredients
Bananas — replace both flour and sugar. They’re what makes these brownies fudgy instead of cakey. The riper they are, the sweeter and more flavorful the result. Don’t use underripe bananas here — they won’t mash smoothly and the sweetness won’t be there.
Cocoa powder — the main source of chocolate flavor. Use unsweetened. Four tablespoons sounds like a lot but it’s what gives these brownies their depth.
Peanut butter — adds fat that makes the texture rich and dense rather than dry. It also helps bind everything together along with the egg.
Dark chocolate — chopped and folded in for pockets of melted chocolate throughout. Use 70%+ for the best result.
Baking powder — gives the brownies just enough lift so they don’t come out completely flat. Don’t skip it even though this isn’t a traditional baked recipe.

💡 Brownies still soft after 25 minutes? They will be — that’s normal. Don’t overbake trying to get them firm in the oven. Let them cool completely at room temperature first, then refrigerate for an hour. They firm up significantly as they cool and the texture improves a lot.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Ingredients (4 servings):
 • 1 egg
 • 2 bananas
 • 4 tbsp cocoa powder
 • 1 tbsp peanut butter
 • 30g dark chocolate
 • 2 tsp baking powder
 • A pinch of salt

Instructions:
 1. Preheat oven to 170°C / 340°F.
 2. Mash the bananas in a bowl until smooth.
 3. Add the egg, cocoa powder, peanut butter, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
 4. Chop the dark chocolate and fold it into the batter.
 5. Pour into a lined baking tin and bake for 25 minutes.
 6. Let cool before cutting — they firm up as they cool.

Macros per serving:
171 kcal · 6.4g protein · 8.4g fat · 21g carbs