My perfect brownie: A crisp crackly crust, fudgy-as-hell under the surface, a rich dark chocolate flavour thanks to melted chocolate AND cocoa powder, and flaky salt on top!
Guys this brownie is a winner. Back when I first adapted the recipe it took me so many failed attempts to really nail it. I needed that shatteringly crisp crust, the fudgy just-holding-together middle, and that deep dark chocolate flavour. I finally created a brownie that was everything I wanted. I re-tested it this week and was struck all over again by how perfect it is, and decided it needed a fresh post.
I think these brownies are best eaten fresh, once they’ve only just finished cooling. That’s when they’re at their crisp/gooey best. Don’t skimp when buying chocolate and cocoa powder, they literally are the flavour of the brownie. So buy the BEST you can afford. Please. Sincerely, your tastebuds. xx
A Really Good Vegan Brownie
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp finely ground chia, or flax seed
- 80 ml / 1/3 cup plant-based milk, or water
- 100 ml / 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp plant-based milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
dry ingredients
- 150 g / 1 cup + 2 Tbsp all‐purpose flour (or white spelt flour)
- 50 g / 1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder
- 30 g / 1/4 cup chickpea (besan) flour
- 20 g / 2 tbsp. arrowroot starch
- 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 100 g / 3/4 cup lightly toasted pecans or other nuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- 50 g / 1/3 cup chopped good quality dark chocolate 70 – 85% cocoa content (optional)
wet ingredients
- 250 g / 1 1/2 cups chopped good quality dark chocolate 70 – 85% cocoa content
- 250 g / 1 cup vegan butter (I use Nuttelex Buttery)
- 310 g / 1 1/2 cup raw granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
finish
- dusting of cocoa powder/icing sugar
- sprinkle of flaky salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line a 22 cm/9 inch square pan with baking paper on all sides, leaving some overhang to use as a handle after baking (to lift the brownies out of the tin).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ground chia/flax and milk/water and set aside to thicken to make a chia/flax egg. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the milk and the apple cider vinegar. Set aside to thicken/activate & turn into ‘buttermilk’.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients except the nuts and chocolate, then toss the chopped chocolate and pecans through if using. Set aside.
- Place the chocolate and vegan butter in a large heat‐proof mixing bowl and place over a saucepan filled with a few cm of simmering water. Allow to melt, stirring often so that the chocolate does not burn. Once melted and combined, remove from the heat (it only needs to just melt, don’t leave it any longer or it will burn). Add the sugar straight away while the mix is still warm and whisk well to begin dissolving the sugar. Whisk in the vanilla paste or extract followed by the chia egg and finally the buttermilk. Whisk together until well combined.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir until combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and spread with your hands or the back of a spoon until smooth and even.
- Bake for about 40-55 minutes (I give the pan a shake occasionally to make sure that crackly crust happens!) until the middle is less wobbly, and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a bit of gooey batter attached (but not too much). TIP: Bake for the lesser amount if you like insanely gooey brownies and the skewer should have more raw batter attached. Remove from the oven and set the pan of brownies on a wire rack – leave in the pan until completely cool. Once cooled, carefully remove the brownies from the pan using the overhanging baking paper. Dust with a little cocoa powder or icing sugar and sprinkle with flaky salt, then slice into 16 squares with a sharp, hot knife. Serve warm or cold.
so normally I am obsessed with your recipes, but I think this one doesn’t agree with me! My brownies literally exploaded out of the pan in the oven :(( Also is there a mistake in the recipe anywhere as there are a few ingredients that you didn’t mention in your method, i.e: arrow root powder, cocoa, baking soda etc, I assumed it went in the same stage with the flour but was not that clear. Disaster aside on my behalf, they do smell amazing!
Hey lovely! Oh no I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you 😣 I actually follow this recipe all the time and haven’t had any issues so I’m not sure why it exploded. I’ll have to do some research on that one. Also step 3. says whisk together flour through to salt, as in all those dry ingredients get whisked together ☺️ I can definitely change it to list all the ingredients there to make it clearer though. X
Hi Bek – are you using Aussie tablespoons (4 teaspoons) or US (3 teaspoons)?
Thanks 😀
Hi Allison! I’m using Aussie tablespoons (4 tsp) 😀