Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

As usual for my ‘free-from’ recipes, this one happened experimentally at 2am in the lead up to a report deadline in Edinburgh.  I was desperate for a fudgy brownie, but didn’t have any butter, or eggs.  Deterred?  Never!  I did a bit of research online for tips and techniques, and then gave it a shot.  The good thing about cooking at 2am, is that major substitutions seem less worrying.  I put it a ton of chocolate, decided that no matter what it would be delicious, and sat down to do some writing.  And delicious it was!

This has since become a favorite of mine – brownies are arguably my favorite baked good, and I’m sure I’ll be sharing many, many recipes for a variety of versions – and is probably the most frequently baked brownie in my arsenal!

Feel free to substitute merrily away here, and by all means, add eggs and butter, if you like.  The key thing is, if you are leaving out the eggs, you really need to let the liquid and flour sit for at least 15 minutes, so the gluten gets going. Otherwise, experiment away!

Tomorrow is a big, stressful presentation day for me, so of course I’ll be baking tonight…and I’m kind of thinking brownies are on the agenda…

Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

Total Time: Approx 45 minutes

Serves: 8-12 brownies

Ingredients

1 cup white flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup water

1 tablespoon strong coffee (optional)

1 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1 melted bar of vegan chocolate (200g) – I highly recommend Divine’s vegan chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ - 1 cup of vegan chocolate chips

Combine the flour and cocoa in a mixing bowl.  Add the water and coffee, and stir thoroughly.  Leave to sit for 15 minutes, so that the gluten can activate. Next, add the sugar, coconut oil, melted chocolate, and vanilla extract. Stir until the mixture is completely even (this can be tough, so you’ll need to use some elbow grease; or an electric mixer).  Sprinkle the baking powder and salt over the top and mix in.  Lastly, fold in half of the vegan chocolate chips, and reserve the other half.

Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish (foiled or with greaseproof paper), and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top, and incorporate with a spoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F (180C) for 25-30 minutes until the top is no longer shiny.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares and digging in!