Chocolate and Date Brownies

Lazy Sunday means baking.  But what to make? I have a huge packet of dates that I bought on offer in Holland and Barrett some time ago, so my first thought was sticky toffee pudding.  However, I would have had to eat it all as Thom doesn't really have a sweet tooth, and they're not really portable to work.
My second thought was some brownies, as I've never made them before.   But what to do about the dates?  I decided to try and incorporate them into the brownies, as I thought they'd add a fudgy texture.  I looked at a few recipes online but as nothing was quite right I made up my own.


Ingredients:
180g margarine
120g dates, chopped
250g demerara sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
250ml soya milk or water
250g flour
1 tsp baking powder
70g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt


Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit, or gas mark 4.
Put the margarine in a small pan on a low heat.  Once it's melted, add the chopped dates and sugar.  Mix well and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt into a large bowl.

Add the soya milk (or water) to the wet mixture, and combine thoroughly.  Then add the wet ingredients to the dry, bit by bit, mixing well until you have a smooth batter (apart from the dates).

Pour into a greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  

The earlier you take it out, the gooier it will be.

Once cool, cut into cuboids.

Result: I took my brownies out at about 25 minutes or so, and the texture was reasonably chewy/gooey, which apparently is how brownies are supposed to be.  They were good, chocolatey, and very sweet.  I reckon the sugar content could be reduced, and a greater quantity of dates could be used.  They add a sticky texture and a treacly flavour which makes the brownies less homogeneous and more interesting.  I am thinking next time I may try making mocha brownies.