In an attempt to create all that I seek in a good brownie, I’ve tried no fewer than 25 variations of this recipe before . My aim? To strike the perfect balance between fudgy and cakey, chocolate-rich but not overwhelmingly so, and of course, to produce the highly-coveted glossy, crackly top.

The entire process has been as intense as the cocoa solids in the chocolate I was baking with.

A great vegan brownie recipe

My final bar is everything I look for in a truly wicked brownie. Squares of dense chocolate fudge, 2.5cm deep, encased in light chocolate cake, and crowned with a glossy, paper-thin “meringue-ish” patina. They’re moist, but not so much that they don’t benefit from being washed down with a glass of cold milk. And most importantly, they’re not so intensely flavoured that they feel too grown up to be a nostalgic treat.

Brownies will only be as good as the chocolate you use

Brownies made with dark chocolate will produce a brownie with more more bitter notes than brownies made with milk chocolate. I follow the school of thought that advocates the use of the best quality chocolate you can afford. After all, brownies are all about showing off great chocolate.

I’m yet to find a vegan milk chocolate I love, so I stuck to my two favourite dark chocolate brands in this recipe. If you do makes these brownies with milk chocolate, note that the recipe will result in brownies that are lighter in colour and much sweeter than the original.

My best advice is to choose the chocolate brands you actually like the taste of. It sounds silly but this is an easy thing to overlook. Having said this, feel free to mix things up with a couple of different brands. Baker extraordinaire, Stella Parks suggests blending multiple chocolate brands in her fabulous cookbook, Bravetart. Using multiple varieties allows you to build depth of flavour in your brownies. It works.

These vegan brownies are the ultimate balance between fudgy and chewy, chocolatey and sweet.

Finding your flavour inspiration

Whilst the most important flavour of any brownie comes from the chocolate, there is a simple beauty in being able to customise them to your taste.

Some great brownie mix-in ideas

• Chopped nuts
• More chocolate (your favourite candy bar, for example)
• Crushed cookies or cookie dough
• Fruits like cherries or raspberries
• Spices. If you know me, I’m all about masala magic

My midnight brownies are flavoured with star anise and orange zest. It’s a truly breathtaking combination that was meant to be paired with chocolate.

The eight-pointed star releases a delicious liquorice aroma when ground into a fine powder. Muddling it with the zest of an orange mellows it down for Asian vibes your brownies will welcome.

Baking for relaxation

Do you ever get an itch to wander into the kitchen and bake? I do. It’s an inexplicable longing to make magic for the people you love (including yourself because self-love is important too).

It’s not often I go in to the kitchen completely sure of what I’m going to make. I’ll have something in the fridge or cupboard I know I want, then I forage about until I find the perfect partners for what I fancy and they could be totally bizarre combinations I’ve never tried before.

If I’ve learned anything from all my years of experimental cooking is that you have to be fearless. FEARLESS. Yeah sure, sometimes things don’t turn out the way you plan but that’s what takeaway pizza and shop-bought ice cream is there for.

Ingredients you’ll need to make my Vegan Crackled Midnight Brownies

• Plain flour (all-purpose flour)
• Icing sugar
• Cornflour
• Cocoa powder (not hot chocolate mix)
• Baking powder
• Ground flax seeds
• Aquafaba (water from a can of unsalted chickpeas or beans)
• Water
• Refined coconut oil
• Dark chocolate (1-2 of your favourite brands)
• Light brown sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Ground star anise
• Orange zest
• Fine salt

Print

Vegan Crackled Midnight Brownies

Named so because of all the nights I stayed up until midnight trying to perfect the recipe! These vegan brownies are the ultimate balance between fudgy and chewy, chocolatey and sweet.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword baking

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Author Sanjana

Equipment

• 20cm x 25cm x 10cm-deep (8" x 10" x 4"-deep) non-stick baking tin or 9" x 4"-deep square

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 120 ml aquafaba hot
• 100 g plain flour
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 125 g dark chocolate chopped (I used a blend of two of my favourite brands)
• 60 g coconut oil
• 200 g icing sugar
• 50 g light brown sugar
• 60 ml hot water
• 1/4 tsp ground star anise
• Zest of 1 medium orange

Instructions

• Grease and line a 20cm x 25cm x 10cm-deep (8" x 10" x 4"-deep) traybake tin with coconut oil and baking parchment. Leave an overhang at either side to lift the brownie out easily later.
• Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/350°F.
• In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax seeds and hot aquafaba. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cornflour, baking powder and salt.
• Place the chocolate and coconut oil over a bain-marie and allow it to melt, stirring gently. Once melted, remove from the heat and set aside. You can also microwave them in a glass bowl on high power in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir gently between each blast. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Add the icing sugar, brown sugar, flax-aquafaba mixture, hot water, orange zest and ground star anise. Whip for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and shiny.
• Add the sifted dry ingredients and whisk again until smooth and glossy, about 90 seconds.
• Pour into a lined pan and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely in the tin before slicing for perfect squares.

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If you like this recipe, you’ll love these Vegan Rice Krispie Treats made with REAL vanilla!

Love Sanjana

The post Vegan Crackled Midnight Brownies appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

I’m truly comforted if the steam is robust enough to reach my nostrils quickly, the familiar smell bringing instant comfort. When it’s warm enough to hold, I like to clutch the mug with both hands, tight enough to feel my arms tense up a bit, rather like embracing an old friend.

That goes back to the days I’d refuse to go to bed until I’d had a mug of saffron, cardamom and almond milk. Yorkshire diva. It was a treat reserved for special occasions or following on from particularly terrifying nightmares.

I’d watch my mum preparing it, her skilled hands flaking each almond, one at a time. She’d then use a brass pestle and mortar to bash a cardamom pod with the satisfying clang, not unlike the sound of a temple bell ringing after arti.

The Spanish saffron strands would stain the warm milk a sort of daffodil yellow, making it appear rich and luxurious, like clotted jersey cream. Once simmered together, the kitchen would be filled with the sweetest smell which in itself was soothing enough to send me to the land of nod, even before it reached my lips.

Milo love

Another hot drink I fell in love with at a young age was that old classic, Milo. I had my first taste aged four in Mombasa, Kenya. All us cousins would have hot Milo made for us at breakfast and before bed and Milo time was my favourite time of the day.

Some of us were such fans that the granules were good enough to be munched straight up, by the spoonful.  And when I say some of us, I mean me.

That faux choco malt flavour tastes like all the comforts of home. It’s sweet but not overly so and somehow you feel like you’re replenishing your body’s energy stores with it.

Just as well too because we used to spend a hell of a lot of time running around the agasi (roof terrace), throwing things down below and shouting for the man from the shop across the road to fetch us the bubblegum that had stickers under the wrapper.

But I had to grow up from being that Milo-drinking, bubblegum-chewing kid from the roof one day. Now I’m preparing to welcome a fresh new little person into the world and quite soon I’ll be the one preparing those warm bedtime beverages.

So this post is an ode to the old times of being comforted and feeling loved throughout my entire childhood. I’m ready to pay it forward to someone else now. And what better way to celebrate them than with a cake that has all the flavours of Milo?

Baby Feasts. Due April 2018.

Eggless Malted Chocolate Whipped Ganache Cake
Makes one 3-layer, 10-inch cake

Ingredients:

700g plain flour
510g caster sugar
150g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
180ml buttermilk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
6 tbsp Milo dissolved in 320ml hot water
300ml sunflower oil
1 tsp salt

For the whipped ganache:
450g dark chocolate, chopped
450g double cream
3 tbsp malt extract
Pinch of salt

Dark and white chocolate curls, to decorate

Method:

1. For the chocolate cake, preheat oven to 160C and butter and line three 20cm diameter cake tins with baking paper. Whisk together all the dry ingredients. Combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Whisk until smooth. Divide among prepared tins, bake until a skewer inserted comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, loosen around the edges with a knife and turn onto wire racks to cool completely.

2. For the whipped ganache frosting, heat the cream in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add the malt extract and chopped chocolate. Stir gently until melted and smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate until it has thickened slightly but is still soft. Beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. It will become paler in colour, too. Use immediately.

3. Trim the cakes if the tops have domed a little. Sandwich each layer with the whipped ganache frosting. Spread the frosting on the outside and smooth out. I used a Wilton 1M open star tip for the ruffled swirls on top. Decorate with chocolate curls.

Love Sanjana + bump

The post Eggless Malted Chocolate Whipped Ganache Cake appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

It’s not often I go in to the kitchen completely sure of what I’m going to produce. I’ll have something in the fridge or cupboard I know I want, then I forage about until I find the perfect partners for what I fancy and they could be totally bizarre combinations I’ve never tried before.

If I’ve learned anything from all my years of experimental cooking is that you have to be fearless. FEARLESS. Yeah sure, sometimes things don’t turn out the way you plan but that’s what takeaway pizza is there for. I’ve rescued even the most disastrous of dinners and 98% of the time, the antidote consists of lemon, salt and sugar. They are like magic for repairing even the spiciest of curries.

Baking is different. As sweet as it can be, baking can also be very cruel – especially eggless and vegan baking. I’ve had more disasters than successes and too many slabs of sunken cakes and burst macarons to count on two hands, presuming I had the arms of the goddess Laxmi. Having said this, I’ve made countless batches of eggless and vegan brownies over the years… It’s finally safe to say I think I’ve nailed it.

So when I wandered in to the kitchen on this particular day, I was fully prepared for what was going to happen and even though I was about to step in to that baking danger zone, I was f e a r l e s s.

What was about to happen was something truly beautiful, btw. It was the coming together of super-moist dark chocolate heaven, creamy-salty peanut butter and the deeply-aromatic flavours of cardamom which I cannot imagine life without.

Blended black beans give these brownies an incredible texture and allow them to retain even more moisture, which produce perfect brownies without the need for eggs, or any dairy products. This makes these brownies 100% vegan and egg free. What could be better?

Vegan Peanut Butter and Cardamom Brownies
Makes 18-20 brownies

Ingredients

For the Brownie Batter:

250g plain flour
60g good-quality cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate)
40g black beans, drained, rinsed and blended until smooth
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
150g light brown sugar
100ml groundnut or sunflower oil
320ml soy milk (or regular full-fat milk for a non-vegan brownie)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

For the Peanut Butter and Cardamom Swirl:

100g crunchy peanut butter (you can use smooth if you prefer)
50g non-dairy spread such as Pure (if you’re not vegan, use unsalted butter – I’ve tried both ways)
50g light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F.

2. Line a 34 x 20 x 3cm H. (13 1⁄2″ x 8″ x 1″) brownie tin with greaseproof paper and oil. I add an extra long sheet of greaseproof paper lengthways to make handles for easy lifting out later. It really makes it much easier to remove from the pan.

3. To make the peanut butter and cardamom swirl, mix together all the ingredients until smooth. Place in the fridge until later.

4. To make the brownie batter, sift together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

5. Whisk together all the wet ingredients including the bean paste and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Whisk again.

6. Gradually add the dry brownie batter ingredients in to the wet and whisk briefly until well combined. It’s really important not to over beat the batter.

7. Pour the batter in to your prepared brownie tin and smooth out the top. Next text your peanut butter swirl mixture from the fridge, give it a quick beat and dollop teaspoon-sized nuggets on top of the brownie batter. Use a butter knife or spoon to swirl it through.

8. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. It will still be a bit wobbly but this is good. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the tray to loosen up any brownie stuck to the edges. Using the clever little handles you made with greaseproof paper earlier, carefully lift the brownie out and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

9. Slice in to squares or rectangles. Enjoy with a cold glass of almond or hazelnut milk.

Love Sanjana

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I remember being six years old and fascinated by cake. Today, I’m 26 and still obsessed with it. I once had a tragic experience with Death by Chocolate Cake. I begged and begged for it until my parents gave in, probably knowing I’d regret it the next day. Needless to say, it did exactly what it said on the box. I didn’t look at another cake for a very long time.

These days, I prefer my cakes with far less sugar… but still packing heaps of chocolate.

There’s nothing better than the marriage between intense chocolate sponge and subtle chai spices. This four-layer cake stays super moist because the sponge is soaked with a little bit of dark rum. If you don’t want to use rum, you can use a bit of gingerbread syrup (like the kind you add to coffee) or just leave it out. As the layers are thin, the buttercream will do a great job of keeping it moist.

For a rich chocolate kick, two teaspoons of good-quality instant coffee works a treat. The slight bitter notes make the chocolate flavour big, punchy and powerful.

If you’ve never tried Biscoff… Well, where the hell have you been?! Essentially, it is crushed Speculoos (spiced) biscuits made into a creamy spread the consistency of Nutella. Spread it on toast, pancakes and use it to make the buttercrean for this cake. Btw, it’s 100% vegan – magic!

I’ve spent many years trying to perfect the vegan sponge and the only one I can say I’m truly proud of and can always depend on is this chocolate cake. The use of white vinegar, oil and cocoa powder creates an even lift and remains moist without the use of eggs.

With hundreds of books on French pâtisserie – my favourite subject after savoury vegetarian cooking, I’ve committed so many hours trying to replicate the classics without using eggs, butter, milk and cream. Sometimes it’s with great success… but usually it ends in disaster. My vegan/eggless pastry chef life is sort of a work in progress I don’t like to talk about too often – and with good reason. 

Darkest Ever Vegan Chocolate Cake with Biscoff and Chai-Spiced Buttercream
Serves 10-12

Ingredients for the sponge:

450g plain flour
100g good-quality cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
300g caster sugar
100ml vegetable or sunflower oil
500ml cold water
2 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tbsp dark rum to soak the sponges (optional)

Ingredients for the buttercream:

250g soy margarine
300g crunchy Biscoff spread
2 tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp chai spice

Popcorn, toasted hazelnuts and Carnation Caramel (onit if vegan) to decorate

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C. Grease and line a 8-inch wide X 3-inch deep cake tin.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

3. In a separate bowl or a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar, oil, water, coffee and vinegar until fully combined, about 5 minutes.

4. Gently fold in a third of the dry ingredients. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps. Next, fold in the remaining two thirds of the dry ingredients. Beat with a whisk until very few lumps remain, about 1 minute. Do not over mix it.

5. Pour the cake mix into the cake tin and bang the bottom of the tin on a work surface to ensure any bubbles come to the surface. This will ensure an even rise.

6. Bake the cake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean. It’s important you don’t open the oven for the first 40 minutes of cooking.

7. Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

8. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the edge of the cake and carefully turn out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool fully, preferably overnight. Cover loosely.

9. To make the buttercream, beat the vegan margarine until light, pale and fluffy. Next, beat in the Biscoff, chai spices and icing sugar. Beat again until super fluffy. About 10 minutes.

10. To assemble to cake, remove the baking paper from under the cake and using a cake wire, cut the sponge into four even layers. At this point you can soak each sponge with dark rum, if using.

11. Place your first sponge on a cake plate and using an ice cream scoop, take four level scoops of your buttercream. Spread evenly and top with your next sponge. Repeat for all of the sponges and finally, top the cake with the remaining buttercream.

12. Scatter over the popcorn and caramel if using. If you don’t want to use caramel, you can used melted dark chocolate.

13. Cut into slices and serve with a cuppa chai. 

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll have enough dough to bag a place at Le Cordon Bleu. In Paris. Learning how to make perfect madeleines, tarts, gâteau, and croissants. 

Dreamy.

Love Sanjana

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