- Makes 12 brownies – Ready in 2 days (as proper overnight cooling is needed) –
*Vegan* and *Gluten Free*
To achieve a firm and 'neat-to-eat' structure, these brownies MUST be made the day before.
We all know how temperamental free-from bakes can be, so I would ALWAYS make this recipe in a loose-bottomed tin, such as this 20cm x 20cm loose-bottomed square cake tin from Lakeland.
Gather together…
80g 'Moo' Vegan Dark Chocolate (broken into pieces, ready to melt).
110g Flora Vegan butter block (sliced and diced, ready to melt).
1 tbsp instant coffee (plus 50ml boiling water).
100ml 'Oggs' Aquafaba (whisked until fluffy).
110g brown sugar (any brown sugar is fine, I usually use Demerara).
110g caster / granulated (white) sugar.
210g Gluten Free 'Doves Farm' plain flour (sieved).
40g Cocoa powder (sieved).
1 tsp Gluten Free baking powder (sieved).
Get making…
1. Boil a 1/4 full kettle of water.
2. Into a heat-proof medium bowl (or use the top pan of an official bain marie set if you are lucky enough to have one), weigh out the 80g of Vegan dark choc (break the chocolate into chunks, along the lines the chocolate is imprinted with). Also add the 110g of sliced-and-diced Vegan butter to the heat-proof bowl.
3. Put the boiling kettle water into a small / medium saucepan (this will make the base of your bain marie) or into the base of an actual bain marie of you have one, on the hob and heat it gently on LOW to keep it warm. On top of this pan place the medium heat-proof bowl (ensure the bubbling water DOES NOT touch the bowl, it is the radiating warmth that should be heating the bowl not the water itself, or the ingredients will burn). This 'bain marie' set-up will gently melt the ingredients in about 5 minutes. DON'T be tempted to just melt them in a saucepan as the mixture WOULD stick and burn to the base. Stir the Vegan chocolatey-buttery mixture a couple of times during the bain-marie melting.
4. Once fully melted, turn off the hob and carefully REMOVE the heat-proof bowl from the hot saucepan - I usually pour out and save the hot water for washing up and put a bit of cold water into the base-pan instead, to speed up the cooling. Leave the bowl of melted Vegan chocolate/butter to cool to room temperature, for at least 10 FULL minutes (if the bowl is placed on top of cold water, if not it will take longer).
5. At this stage add the coffee to the mixture (1 tbsp coffee granules plus 50ml boiling water). Stir well.
6. While the Vegan chocolate/butter/coffee mixture cools, using handheld beaters / an electric mixer, in a mixing bowl, whisk the 100ml 'Oggs' aquafaba until it is white and fluffy. This will take at least 5 minutes.
7. Next add the 110g brown sugar and the 110g white sugar, ONE SPOONFUL AT A TIME to the whipped aquafaba, and keep whipping until combined.
8. Preheat the oven to 180 C (160 C fan) or to Gas 4, and CAREFULLY line the base (but DO NOT GREASE) a 8" x 8" (20cm square) baking tin with greaseproof paper, or even better use a reusable silicone liner (if cut exactly, to neatly fit the base like this Lakeland reusable liner can). Don't grease the tin / liner or else the base of the brownie will be greasy. We all know how temperamental free-from bakes can be, so I would ALWAYS make this recipe in a loose-bottomed tin, such as this 20cm x 20cm loose-bottomed square cake tin from Lakeland.
9. GRADUALLY pour the WELL COOLED melted Vegan chocolate mixture into the fluffy sugary-aquafaba mixture. As you pour the chocolate-mixture in, keep stirring VERY GENTLY but continuously with a metal spoon, until fully combined and not streaky, this will take up to 60 seconds -scrape down the sides and base of the bowl as you mix.
10. In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine the 210g of SIEVED plain Gluten Free flour and the 40g of SIEVED cocoa powder, and the 1 tsp of SIEVED Gluten Free baking powder.
11. From now on it is important to 'fold' the mixture when stirring - meaning you carefully lift and stir, so you don't knock out the air, with a metal spoon, DO NOT use an electric mixer. So, 'fold' the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, gently but well, with a spoon, for about 1 minute, until all fully combined.
12. Pour the brownie mix (it's very runny, which is fine) into the lined 8 inch x 8 inch loose-bottomed tin.
13. Bake the brownie for 40 minutes exactly - the top will show signs of cracking, the inside will still be soft.
14. Score the surface of the brownies As SOON AS they are out of the oven, to mark the 12 pieces (don't cut all the way through them yet, wait until they are cooled and solid to do that).
15. Sit the tin on a wire rack (to speed up cooling) and leave the scored-but-still-whole brownie slab in the tin to cool to room temperature in a cool room. Then put them IN THE FRIDGE OVERNIGHT. If you try and cut them sooner, you'll end up with a squidgy mess.
16. After the overnight chilling, push the scored-but-still-whole brownie slab out of the tin using the loose base. Use a (wide, flat) pallet knife or fish slice to ease the brownie (still on the liner) onto a chopping board.
17. Cut the FULLY COOLED slab into 12 pieces - being careful not to accidentally cut the reusable liner (if using)
18. Enjoy! This is the once free-from recipe I've found, about which people cannot tell wheat, eggs and dairy are absent.
19. These brownies can be kept for up to 3 days, keep them cool and in an airtight container - I always stand them on a small wire rack (23cm x 17cm) inside the airtight container, to stop them going mushy underneath. Or you can keep them in the fridge, for up to three days, where they will stay solid and dense - almost like fudge.
Adapted (to make it Gluten Free) from the Oggs website's 'Ultimate Gooey Brownie' recipe - but the original recipe has since disappeared from the Oggs website.