Vegan Brownies

⭐️ Why You Should Try It

• Rich, fudgy, and buttery. With an intensely chocolate flavor, slightly crispy tops, and moist texture, you will love these vegan brownies. They are fudgy without being too gooey or cakey. They are such a decadent treat that everyone will love to indulge in!
• Insanely chocolatey. By incorporating cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and chocolate chips, this recipe delivers an unmatched chocolate experience without being overly sweet. These brownies are truly addictive. You have been warned!
• Simple and affordable ingredients. You will only need 10 easy-to-find ingredients and about 15 minutes of active time to make these brownies. Plus, this recipe has no avocado, beans, aquafaba, or applesauce!

🍫 What Is a Brownie

A brownie is a type of chocolate cake that first appeared around 1893 in the United States. It is usually baked in a square or rectangular tin, has a flat appearance, and has a fudgy texture. Traditionally, it’s prepared with flour, sugar, butter, chocolate, and eggs.

The recipe I am sharing here is both eggless and dairy-free, all without sacrificing flavor!

🧈 Ingredients Notes

Here are the ingredients you will need to prepare this vegan brownie recipe:

• Flour – Use regular all-purpose flour.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – Preferably use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Not only will it result in a richer chocolate flavor, but it will also give your brownies a deeper color.
• Sugar – Granulated white sugar works best here. It also helps give the brownies slightly crispy tops.
• Butter – For richness and a delicate buttery flavor. You can use store-bought vegan butter or homemade vegan butter.
• Plant-based milk – Any unsweetened plant-based milk will work. You can use almond, cashew, soy, or oat milk.
• Dark chocolate – Pick good-quality vegan dark chocolate. I went with 70% dark chocolate for a deeper flavor. You can use 50% dark chocolate, but be aware that your brownies will be sweeter.
• Salt – To enhance the chocolate flavor.
• Vanilla – Use high-quality vanilla extract or omit it and replace it with vanilla sugar.
• Baking powder – Just a hint of baking powder helps the brownies rise. Worry not, it won’t give them a cakey texture.
• Chocolate chips – Optional. It creates pockets of gooey chocolate in each bite!

Note: I tried including espresso powder in this recipe but wasn’t too impressed with the results and thought it actually not necessary, so I left it out.

🥣 How to Make It

Melt the butter and chocolate

1. Add the chocolate and butter to a double boiler. Start by chopping your dark chocolate into chunks (I used chocolate pistols). Transfer it to a bowl and add the vegan butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan filled with water.
2. Melt over medium heat. Heat over low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly, until the dark chocolate and butter are completely melted.
3. Remove from heat. Carefully remove the bowl from the saucepan and set aside.

Prepare the batter

1. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.

2. Add the liquid ingredients. Pour in the melted chocolate, butter, and milk.
3. Mix until combined. Mix the liquid and dry ingredients with a spatula or spoon until combined. Stop mixing as soon as everything is incorporated.
4. Add your mix-ins. At this point, you can stir in the chocolate chips or nuts if using.

Bake

1. Transfer the batter to a pan. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer the brownie batter to the pan and spread it into an even layer.
2. Bake. Finally, bake the brownie for 25-30 minutes in a 350°F (175°C) preheated oven.

🍦 What to Serve It With

These vegan brownies are delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, matcha ice cream, a dollop of whipped coconut cream, or with crème anglaise!

📔 Tips

• Measure ingredients properly. Instead of digging with the measuring cup into your bag of flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Then, use a knife to level the flour. This will ensure you are not using too much flour, which would result in dry brownies.
• Use room-temperature milk. To prevent the chocolate from hardening when you mix it with the flour and the milk, ensure your milk is not cold.
• Do not overmix the batter. Avoid overmixing the batter as it would develop the gluten and yield a tougher texture.
• Add nuts. Feel free to add walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans to the batter for extra crunch!
• Stir in caramel sauce. Chocolate and caramel are a match made in heaven. Feel free to stir in vegan caramel sauce on top of the brownie before baking for a sweet, salty, and nutty flavor.
• Do not overbake. Since not all ovens are equal, I highly recommend checking the doneness of the brownies at the 25-minute mark.
• Let cool completely before slicing. Straight from the oven, the brownies will be soft and a bit crumbly. Let them cool completely before slicing them into bars.
• Glaze the brownies. You can glaze these brownies with chocolate, peanut butter, or even mint frosting!

💬 FAQ

🍪 More Chocolate Desserts

Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread

The Best Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

The Best Vegan Chocolate Mousse

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