Seriously the best ever fudge brownies – and it’s vegan! With just a few basic ingredients, you get the perfect fudgy texture. It’s addiction at first bite!
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To all chocolate addicts out there, I have the recipe you were looking for. Forget all the brownie recipes you tried before, this one is the only one you will ever need in your life. I’m not kidding. It’s quick, easy, and it works every single time. Whether vegan or not, you will find yourself falling in love with this brownie recipe and will for sure bake it again and again.
Ok, so what is so special about this brownie recipe? Well again, it’s vegan. Don’t make the amalgam though, vegan does not mean healthy. It might sound silly to you, but many people actually think that adopting a vegan lifestyle goes with healthier habits. Maybe it is the case, but it doesn’t mean you can’t indulge a decadent sweet treat once in a while.
To make this brownie vegan, there is nothing easier. I just replaced two regular eggs (that you would need for a non-vegan version of this recipe) with a flaxseed egg. Have you heard of a flaxseed egg before? It’s truly magic and works beautifully in most baking goods. A flaxseed egg is indeed made of ground flaxseed that you combine with water until you get a thick and fluffy viscous texture making it look like an egg.
You can either purchase regular flaxseeds and grind them yourself using a peppermill or a spice mill for instance, or you can go directly for a ready-to-use ground flaxseed package. Note that the flaxseeds tend to lose their healthy properties very fast once they are ground so it’s most of the time recommended you grind them just before using them. In a baking recipe however, it doesn’t matter too much as we are looking for the texture rather than for the healthy properties.
Except the perfect texture brought by the flaxseed, you will be happy to learn that the use of these tiny seeds doesn’t have any impact on the final taste of the brownies. You could indeed easily fool someone who is reluctant to trying vegan recipes, claiming they are tasteless. Not convinced yet? Try it and see!
As for the chocolate, it is important to go for a non-dairy chocolate if you are vegan, as most chocolate we purchase in store actually contain spares of milk, if not more than that. Here we use chocolate for the chocolate chips only, the other chocolate being used in the form of unsweetened cocoa powder. The choice of cocoa powder instead of chocolate is important in a brownie recipe as it is what will give the cake it’s rich fudgy texture. I have tried to use regular chocolate in previous recipes and it always makes the cake too dense instead of fudgy.
It is important to go for a high quality unsweetened cocoa powder. Between dutch-processed and natural, I always prefer the dutch-processed one (Valrhona, Droste) in my baking recipes as it has more fat content than the natural one, bringing more moisture to your recipes. If you can’t make your hands on a dutch-processed, make at least sure you go for unsweetened cocoa powder.
I also recommend you sift the cocoa powder and the flour for better results, even though it not mandatory for the second one. If you don’t have a sifter, just use a sieve, it will do the trick. Last part: the vegan butter! I used Earth Balance vegan butter for this recipe, but margarine should work too. Just make sure it does not contain any milk spares.
Now what if you want to make a NON-VEGAN version of this brownie? It’s easy peasy! Just replace the flaxseed egg with 2 eggs and use regular butter or margarine instead of the vegan one. For the rest, proceed exactly the same! A little trick I have tried (and that saved me from doing a brownie overdose): once completely cooled – and not before – cut the brownie into squares, then freeze single slices in a ziploc bag. This way, when you have a little brownie craving, just remove it from the freezer, place 15 seconds in the mirowave and you have an ooey-gooey fudge brownie as if you had just baked it. Heaven!
PrintBest Ever Vegan Fudge Brownies
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 9-12 servings 1x
- Category: Cakes and Pies
- Cuisine: Vegan
Seriously the best ever fudge brownies – and it’s vegan! With just a few basic ingredients, you get the perfect fudgy and gooey texture. It’s addiction at first bite!
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Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (150 ml) water
- 1 cup (250 ml) vegan butter (earth balance brand), melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (135g) brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (125g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (175g) non-dairy chocolate chips
Instructions
- Make the flaxseed egg by stirring the ground flax seeds and water in a small bowl. Set aside to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted vegan butter and sugars together. Add the flaxseed egg, vanilla, and whisk until evenly combined.
- Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, using a strainer or a sifter. Add salt, fold in the chocolate chips, and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined (do not overmix).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the middle of the brownies no longer jiggles and is just set.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then pull the brownies out, using the parchment paper and let cool for another 15-30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Nora Cook.
NOTE: for a non-vegan version, replace the “flaxseed egg” with 2 eggs, and use regular margarine. Easy!
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Best Ever Vegan Fudge Brownies, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
Jare
These look so delicious and I just tried making them.. I followed your recipe exactly except I used Bob’s Red Mill Egg replacer instead of flax. I also used a shallow “brownie pan” (it’s about 13×9). I checked them at 35 minutes and they were boiling! I took them out a couple minutes later and same thing, and they’re very greasy. I’m not sure what I did wrong 🙁 my oven was accurately at 350 F. If you have any input, I would love to try them again! Thank you
Delphine Fortin
Hello!
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. Let’s try to unfold this together to understand what might have gone wrong in the recipe.
1/ First of all, you’re using Bob’s Red Mill Egg replacer, and even though I’ve always heard good very things about it I’ve never tried it in this recipe so it’s possible it alters the final result a little bit, although again I’m not entirely sure about it.
2/ Then, and I think it probably explains more, you used a 9×13″ baking pan, and given the fact that it’s a bit larger than the 9×9″ I usually use, the cake is thinner and bake quicker, which can explain that cake was boiling.
3/ Third, it’s important to keep in mind that every oven is different, so 350°F for one can be a bit less or more for another one (depending if it’s old or new, and so on). Of course you can’t do much about it, this is why I always recommend to keep a close eye to the baking time and check the cake a little bit before the end to make sure it’s not already done. Oh, and make sure you bake on the middle rack.
4/ Finally, the choice of ingredients can impact the final result of the cake. You’re mentioning the fact that the cake is boiling, which can happen with the choice of vegan butter. I recommend Earth Balance brand for best results in this recipe.
I hope this helps you figure out what may have gone wrong this time. And please, don’t think you’ve done anything wrong, think it most like an experience. The more we try the better we become at baking, so this is just part of the journey! 🙂
Del
Tara
Can I leave out the cocoa powder and just use chocolate?
If so,how much?
Ria
Hi. Can I use oil instead of butter
Delphine Fortin
I have never tried myself but my guess is that it should work, yes. Please let me know if you try 🙂
Yvette
Delicious! I made these tonight – I used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer instead of flax. The brownies are delicious, chocolatey, and fudgy! Definitely will make these again!
Delphine Fortin
I’m so happy to hear that, Yvette. Thank you for your feedback!
LadyMilonguera
Je ne me ferais pas prier pour en prendre un bout. La cuisson a l’air parfaite.
Delphine Fortin
Tu adorerais c’est certain ! 😀