Friday 10 May 2013

Vegan Brownies












I'm not one for an austere brownie. Remember these and these and these? I do tend to go a little over-the-top when it comes to brownies. I love my brownies to showcase butter, sugar, marshmallows, nuts, shattered cookies, choc chips, broken up candy bars, confectionery and anything else that's not nailed down. But when I saw these Vegan Brownies in my new cookbook, brownies that didn't include brownie ingredients (let's face it), I saw it as a challenge to my notion of brownie.  I was compelled to make them just to see if these rather odd ingredients could actually make a delectable brownie. I needn't have worried, because any doubts I might have had dissolved with my first mouthful of batter... Yes, that's right, batter. And the baked batter, that is the brownies, tastes even better.



Vegan Brownies
from Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Good
Makes 16

2 cups white spelt flour
1 cup best quality cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
A pinch of fine sea salt
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (Vegenaise) or vegetable oil
1 cup best quality maple syrup
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (I used rice malt syrup)
1/2 cup strong brewed black coffee
1/2 cup almond milk (or soy milk, or rice milk)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 23 x 28 cm baking pan with baking paper and then lightly spray the paper with cooking oil spray.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together so that they are well combined.

In a separate b bowl, whisk the vegan mayonnaise/Vegenaise or vegetable oil, syrups, coffee, almond milk and vanilla.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not over beat.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took 25 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.

Let the brownies cool before cutting into squares.

10 comments:

  1. So glad you tried these - I was wondering about them! They look delicious!

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  2. I would be curious to taste one of these!! They look delicious :)

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  3. Glad to hear these are good! I need to make a vegan cake this month and was thinking of using her recipe for it. I think that cake has this brownie recipe for the base. They look so moist and fudgy! Beautiful!

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  4. They look moist and delicious. Love the photos Jen.

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  5. now i feel all guilty about never making anything healthy, and i'm now craving brownies.
    mid-afternoon snack perhaps?
    i also love your can of cocoa. super adorable.

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  6. Hey Little Kitchie. They're as good as they look.

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  7. Thanks Gabrielle. These are unusual ingredients, but in my experience, vegans have to be very resourceful and imaginative. They usually come up with recipes that work. This is no exception.

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  8. Yes Pink Patisserie, this is the base of the chocolate cake. You'll be a hit if you make it. It's everything you want a chocolate cake to be and vegan at the same time. I'll be making them and it again and again.

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  9. Thanks Patty. One of my favourite things to do is bake, photograph and eat brownies.

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  10. Thanks Michele. You'd never know these are so virtuous when you eat them.

    PS: I have a "thing" for packaging.

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