1/2cupGarcía de la Cruz Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more to oil pan, warmed
3/4cuppure maple syrup
3/4cuppure maple sugaror cane sugar
1/3cupplain soy milk
1/2teaspoonsea salt
1Tablespoonvanilla extract
3 1/2ouncesdark chocolatecoarsely chopped and divided
1/4cup shelled pumpkin seeds. Make them at home following these easy steps.
Sea salt
DIRECTIONS
Place dates in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 20 minutes or until softened, then drain well.
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper; brush paper and sides of pan lightly with García de la Cruz Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and set aside.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder into a medium bowl; whisk to combine and set aside.
Place pumpkin butter butter, warm García de la Cruz Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and drained dates in a food processor; blend until smooth. It's okay if a few small date pieces are not blended.
Add maple syrup, maple sugar, soy milk, salt and vanilla and process until smooth.
Pour into sifted flour mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until almost combined. Reserve 2 tablespoons chopped chocolate and stir remaining chocolate into batter, being careful not to overmix.
Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with pumkin seeds, remaining chocolate (optional), and a large pinch of sea salt.
Bake for 25-27 minutes or until edges pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
For best results, refrigerate until completely cold before cutting.