Not long after being sent a giant box of veg from Riverford to bake with, including a bag of avocados which ended up in a chocolate fudge cake, I found myself with another avocado desperate to be used.

Coincidently, a few days beforehand I had seen these avocado brownies posted by Averie and, well, it just seemed like fate!

I’ve made a few variations on healthy brownies with ‘secret’ ingredients before – mayonnaise and black beans probably being the strangest – but these were by far my favourite and cut into 12 squares they are a virtuous 175 calories each – practically health food!

You would honestly never guess that there is avocado in these, or that they are healthy – they are just straight up delicious, fudgy brownies.

If you have an avocado going spare, I would seriously recommend giving this recipe a go – the reaction when you tell people what’s in them AFTER they’ve tried them is worth it alone!

Avocado brownies (recipe adapted from Averie Cooks)

• 70g avocado flesh (approx. 1 small avocado)
• 60g Clover light, melted (or butter if you don’t care about calorie count)
• 1 large egg
• 120g caster sugar
• 100g light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp strong black coffee
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 60g cocoa powder
• 30g plain flour (I used gluten free)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 85g dark chocolate, chopped

Start by pureeing or mashing the avocado – I find a stick blender does this best. Add the melted butter, egg, sugar, coffee and vanilla and beat well with an electric mixer, until completely smooth. Sift together the cocoa powder, flour and salt and fold into the mixture until just combined, then stir through the chopped dark chocolate.

Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 8×8″ square tin, then bake at 170 degrees for 25-30 minutes – make sure you don’t overbake or the brownies won’t be fudgy. Leave to cool completely before trying to cut – then eat in amazement.