Brownie Christmas Trees – EcoFinia

Looking for a festive treat with a natural twist to wow the whole family this Christmas? These delicious brownies fit the bill – fuelled by tasty organic chocolate from Vivani and iChoc.

Showcasing both Vivani and iChoc, this recipe is a Christmas crowd-pleaser, offering guests ‘a special treat for their taste buds and eyes during the Advent season’. EcoFinia, owner of both brands, offers this tip for achieving the perfect shape: “For uniform Christmas trees with a mould measuring 18cm x 12cm, proceed as follows: make a total of four markings on the long side, each 4.5cm apart. Then make a mark in the centre of each of these 4.5cm wide pieces on the opposite side. Cut the cake along these points so that you have seven whole triangles and two half triangles. Put the two half triangles together with a little liquid chocolate to make the eighth triangle.”

Serves: Eight

Baking time: 30 minutes

Level of difficulty: Medium

Ingredients 

For the dough:

100g Vivani Dark Cooking Chocolate 

100g white spelt flour 

125g coconut blossom sugar

15g Vivani Fine Cocoa Powder

1tsp gingerbread spice

1 pinch baking powder 

1 pinch salt 

40g apple purée

60ml vegetable oil

90ml soya milk

For the decoration:

150g Vivani Dark Cooking Chocolate 

50g iChoc White Vanilla vegan chocolate 

Sugar pearls, stars and sprinkles

Method

1       Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Grease a baking frame or a square baking tin (approximately 18x12 cm) or line with baking paper.

2       Melt the chocolate carefully and slowly in a bain-marie.

3       Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, gingerbread spice, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the apple purée, oil and soya drink to the centre and mix everything together. Finally, stir in the melted chocolate thoroughly.

4       Spread the batter into the tin and bake for 30 minutes. Leave to cool completely on a rack. Then carefully cut into eight acute triangles with a sharp knife (see tip).

5       Melt the Dark Cooking Chocolate for the decoration in a bain-marie. Coat the brownie trees completely with it and leave to dry.

6       Finally, melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie and decorate the chocolate-coated trees with fine lines. Decorate with sprinkles as desired and leave to set.

By Rosie Greenaway, editor