The Best Vegan Brownies Ever
Hey friends! I’m back after a hiatus of sorts. Things have been crazy since this new year started! First, my family got hit with Omicron, followed by a funeral (long story) and then work went haywire. Safe to say I’m so happy to say goodbye to the first three months of the year. I genuinely hope you had a smoother start to the year than I did.
On the bright side, I was blessed to be surrounded by amazing people and gifted fantastically with lots of chocolate resulting to this recipe. My cousin came back from Costa Rica for a short visit and brought back with him some cacao powder which he swore was incredible. Of course, there was no better way to try it than making the most chocolatiest thing I could think of: Brownies. Not just any brownies, but THE brownies. With supremely fudgy centers, crinkly tops and chocolate chunks to boot. I gave myself an extra challenge and made it vegan. Not like anyone can tell. And let me tell you these are the bomb!
If you have tried making vegan brownies before, you’ll know that the results are often problematic. For the longest time, mine would never bake properly and end up in a confusing chocolate lava sludge. However, after some more experimentation and getting inspiration from my hot cocoa tablea cookies, these were born! The secret is creating a simple sugar syrup which gives the brownies more structure, moisture and its crinkly top without any aid from eggs. If you are unfamiliar on how to create a sugar syrup, don’t fret about it. The process is pretty straightforward and I left a step by step breakdown below to get you through it. It may not be the usual mama’s recipe but it’s definitely easy and darn good or maybe even better (respect to your mom’s brownies).
How to Make Your Best Brownies Ever
I say ‘your’ because I want you to make this your own. Add in your favorite mix ins, go crazy with the frosting, no frosting, swirls, you name it. I encourage you to experiment and have fun.
First, set your station up. Start with lining your pan, sifting your dry ingredients and preparing your flaxseed. Next, get to work on that sugar syrup. I usually do this first, before measuring my wet ingredients, since the syrup needs some time to cool down. Grab a heavy bottomed pot, mix the sugars and the water together then turn the heat to medium or medium low. You don’t want this to be bubbling excessively or for the water to evaporate. For those who what to know why, I’ll leave the explanation below (see tips section) but I’ll skip it for now. Basically, go slow and steady here until the sugar is fully dissolved. Set aside and leave to cool.
Once the syrup has cooled slightly, make a well in the center of your dry ingredients (I just feel this makes the mixing much neater or maybe I’m just OC), pour in that syrup and the rest of your ingredients. Then, at the very last second before you pour your batter into the pan, add in the chocolate chunks. The batter might be a bit warm from the syrup so you want to add the chunks at the very end so that they don’t melt into the batter. Of course, the chocolate chunks are optional but really it’s so much better with them. Place the brownies in the oven and leave the heat to do its magic. Trust me, the end results will bless your day!
Just A Few More Tips
- When making the sugar syrup, avoid putting the heat on high to make things move faster. You don’t want that water to evaporate. Why? Too little water will make the brownies dry instead of fudgy. It will also cause your sugar to solidify too much.
- Do not overmix your batter. Only mix until everything is just incorporated. This means that it’s ok to see a few small lumps as long as there are no large clumps of flour.
- You can use all white or all brown sugar for this recipe depending on what you have on hand. I like to use a higher ratio of brown sugar to white for fudgier brownies.
- For clean slices, wait until your brownies are fully cooled. Warm up your knife (optional but highly recommend, I use a blowtorch or dip knife in hot water), slice then clean your knife after every few slices.
- The brownies are best the day they are made but they can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days. You can even freeze them for up to 3 months by wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap and/or foil then freezing.
Better Than Boxed Vegan Brownies
Ingredients
- 235 g (1 cup + 3 tbsp) brown sugar
- 120 g (½ cup + 1½ tbsp) white sugar
- 118 mL (½ cup) room temp. water ,plus an extra 6 tbsp
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 187 g (1½ cup) all purpose flour ,sifted
- 64 g (⅔ cup) cocoa powder ,sifted
- ½ tsp espresso powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 112 g (½ cup) olive oil
- ½ tbsp vanilla extract
- 135 g (scant 1 cup) chopped chocolate ,I use 70%, optional but a need in my household
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C) and line one 8×8" pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can grease the pan with butter. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix the 2 tablespoons of flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of water then set aside to thicken for about 5 minutes. This will be your flax egg
- Place the sugars and the water in a small pot on medium low and heat until all the sugar has dissolved. The syrup will be quite runny. Leave to cool for 5-8 minutes.
- While waiting for the syrup to cool, mix all the dry ingredients together and create a well at the center. Pour in the olive oil, vanilla, flax egg and the cooled sugar syrup then mix until everything is just incorporated. P.S. A few lumps in the batter are perfectly ok.
- If the batter is still very warm, wait for it to cool down*. Once cooled, add in the chopped chocolate, give it a quick mix then plop the batter into the pan. Sprinkle more chocolate on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (aka it will not be a clean toothpick but it shouldn't be wet either).
- Leave the brownies to cool for 10 minutes in the pan then cool completely on a wire rack (or just slice into bars if you can't wait). Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or a glass of milk. Enjoy!
