Black Bean Brownies

So these are INSANE. I read about them and got the recipe from The Table, and I admit I was pretty skeptical. Black beans, I said, do not taste like chocolate. Yes, they are the right color, but they are still BEANS, I said. But...they are brownies, and if you go light on the chocolate chips and use dark chocolate cocoa powder, they are practically HEALTHY for you to eat. That can't be right.

But the blind test convinced me to give it a go. I pulled out the blender and started mixing them together while my husband was out...I wanted to get it done and in the oven before he got back!

Chocolate Cake With Coconut Filling

This recipe turned out great! I believe I originally got the idea from "From Cupcakes to Caviar," but ended up looking up several for reference, so I'm not entirely sure. 

I think possibly my favorite thing about it is how fantastic and classy it looks, and how simple it actually is to make. I had some trouble with the coconut rope falling apart, but it wasn't too bad because instead of trying to poke it down into the batter (why you would even do that I don't understand) I poured about a third of the batter into the Bundt pan, placed the rope in the center (I did poke it in just slightly with my fingers) and then poured the rest over the top. It was as simple as that.

Ugh, I hate how messy the plate is in this picture, but it does give you a good view of the filling!