The Best Vegan Brownies

Kaity Farrell

Fare Isle

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Instagram: @fareisle | fareisle.com

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INGREDIENTS

5 tbsp vegan butter (like Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or Miyoko’s Cultured Vegan Butter)

1 oz dark chocolate (or about 2 tbsp chocolate chips)

²⁄³ cup granulated sugar

¹⁄³ cup aquafaba*

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¹⁄³ cup cocoa powder**

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp fine grain salt

Optional: ½ cup chopped walnuts, divided

Optional: ¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Dark Chocolate Espresso Ganache

¼ cup full-fat coconut milk

¼ cup dark chocolate chips or pieces

1 tsp vanilla extract or paste

1 tsp instant espresso granules

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease an 8" square pan and line with parchment paper cut to fit bottom and come up two opposite sides with overhang.

• Melt vegan butter and dark chocolate together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave.

• Add melted butter and dark chocolate, sugar, aquafaba and vanilla to a mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute with a handheld mixer or in a stand mixer.

• Sift in cocoa powder to get rid of any lumps. Then add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat with mixer until combined, about 1 minute. Batter will be thick and sticky.

• If adding walnuts or chocolate chips, fold them into batter now. Add only half of nuts and reserve the other half to sprinkle on top.

• Spread batter into prepared pan with rubber spatula. Top with remaining ½ of walnuts if adding them.

• Bake at 350˚F for about 25 minutes until top is crackly and brownies start to come away from sides of pan. If you want a fudgier brownie, check them at 20 minutes.

• Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife along sides of pan and lift brownies out of pan with help of parchment paper and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

• To make dark chocolate espresso ganache, heat coconut milk, vanilla and instant espresso in a small pan to scalding temperature or just before boiling. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and whisk in dark chocolate chips or pieces. Keep whisking until chocolate has melted and mixture is silky smooth. Let ganache cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Use the ganache in 1 of 2 different methods: either pour and spread ganache over uncut brownies in pan and allow it to set before cutting or drizzle ganache over uncut or cut brownies.

• Cut into 16 two-inch squares. Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 1 week.

Notes:

*Aquafaba is the leftover and reduced cooking liquid from chickpeas or the reserved liquid from canned chickpeas. It is thick and gelatinous.

**You can use either cacao powder or processed cocoa powder in this recipe.