*The prices were correct at time of writing.
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While coconut sugar is still high on the glycemic index (50-54), it’s a natural alternative to refined white sugar(GI 58-84). Making brownies with coconut sugar isn’t as diabetic-friendly as other refined sugar alternatives and should be included in your carb count, despite its glycemic index being classed as low. Coconut sugar brownies are well worth trying out if you’re on a health kick.
If coconut sugar has never been on your radar before, then read through our adapted recipe and verdict so you can see for yourself if it’s something you want to try.
For this recipe, I adapted Mary Berry’s Easy Chocolate Brownies and did a straight swap of caster sugar for coconut sugar.
Shopping list (with prices)
- Sainsbury’s Baking Block butter – £1
- Jarganic organic coconut sugar – £6.59 from Amazon
- 6 large eggs – £2.00 from Tesco (save money by buying 12 for £3.25 instead. Each egg will cost £0.26, compared to £0.32 for the pack of 6)
- Dr. Oetker cocoa powder – £4.65 from Sainsbury’s
- Self raising flour – £0.70 from Tesco (we already had flour in the cupboard so we used that)
Of course, as with anything you bake, check your cupboards before you go out shopping. Using what you have before buying more is key to saving money, as well as reducing food waste.
You can make these coconut sugar chocolate brownies even more budget by swapping the ingredients in the list above for supermarket own brands instead. For example, Tesco cocoa powder is £2.89 and comes in a bigger 250g tub, compared to Dr. Oetker’s 190g.
Unfortunately, coconut sugar is expensive, regardless of whether you shop around. The RRP on Amazon for the Jarganic coconut sugar we use is £10, but it’s regularly available for a discounted price. If you know you’re going to be doing a few coconut sugar bakes, you might as well take advantage of sales and buy a few.
Likewise, if you want to make these brownies gluten-free, you’ll need to factor in the higher price of buying gluten-free flour. This averages around £7 for 500g.
The total cost of our coconut sugar brownies is £14.94, but if you go for the cocoa powder swap, they’ll cost you £13.89.
Baking these brownies a second time will cost you less, as you’ll already have most of the ingredients. (Or if you’ve made one of our other sugar-free bakes!) But to really save money and time, you can still get that homemade taste and experience by using Betty Crocker’s Sugar Free Chocolate Cake mix (we thought it was light, soft, and simple to make). Just be aware the mix uses sweeteners rather than natural sugar.
Ingredients
- 10oz (275g) softened butter
- 13oz (375g) coconut sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3oz (75g) cocoa powder
- 40z (100g) self raising flour
You can add other ingredients like nuts, cherries, or sugar free chocolate chips to tart them up a bit.
If you want to make this dairy-free, then you can swap the butter for Stork’s Baking Spread Alternative, or other plant-based unsalted butters. We have a regular, dairy-intolerant guest and our brownies are usually refined sugar- and dairy-free. And without the dairy, these brownies taste just the same as with it.
As per the recipe, if you cut your brownies into 24 pieces, then each square will contain 15.6g of coconut sugar.
Coconut sugar chocolate brownie recipe
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 180C.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, butter, and eggs until smooth.
Step 2
Gradually add the flour and cocoa powder and mix until fully blended
Step 3
Add any ingredients you want to use for flavouring, i.e. nuts or chocolate chips
Step 4
Spoon the mixture into a baking tray, making sure to spread it evenly across the whole baking tin. Don’t forget the corners!
Place into the oven, cook for 40 minutes at 180C. When the timer beeps, check on your brownies’ progress: stick a knife or a skewer into the centre, and if it’s clean upon removal, they’re done. They should also have a nice, crusty top. If there’s still raw mix on the skewer, put the brownies back in the oven for five more minutes and check again.
If you find the brownies are burning around the edges (or getting too dark on top), carefully put some tin foil over the top.
Step 5
Once done, remove from the oven, and wait for the brownie to cool slightly before cutting into squares. I normally do 3 long lengths and then cut the width. Mary Berry’s recipe makes 24 squares, so aim for that.
Enjoy!
Make yourself a brew, put your feet up, and enjoy your latest bake. The coconut sugar gives the brownies a light caramel flavour, and as a top review, my son (not a diabetic) prefers this version to the normal, caster sugar ones. Top praise!
