Vegan Brownies

Gosh, now I have to eat it. My life is so hard.

This recipe is not one of my own alas, but comes courtesy of The Gluten Free Vegan. And it is delicious. Best gluten-free brownies I have had, hands down.

On with the show.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 1/2 cups organic sugar
• 1 cup applesauce (made the old fashioned way, by simmering apples in water with some sugar)
• 1 banana, peeled and mashed (I always store my past-it bananas in the freezer – they’re perfect here)
• 1 egg (or equivalent egg replacer – see note below)
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour (can you tell I really like this?)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of xanthan or guar gum
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180° C or 350° F. Spray and/or wipe your brownie pan with your chosen cooking lubricant.
2. Mix in a large bowl the oil and the sugar for a bit, add applesauce, mashed banana and egg (or replacer) for 1 or 2 minutes.
3. Add the cocoa and stir.
4. In a separate bowl, sift the flours, powders, gums and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir.
5. Add chocolate chips and walnuts, stir by hand.
6. Put them in your pan and cook for 35-40 minutes. As all good brownie should, these will stay relatively sticky.
7. Cool on a wire rack. Cut up into brownie-sized brownies.
8. Served with yoghurt is delicious as I’m sure you’re aware.

My favourite egg replacer:

Stir 1 tablespoon of ground linseed/flaxseed (fresh is best!) into 3 tablespoons of warm water, and sit for a few minutes and let it froth up. This is equivalent to 1 egg — but you need to add an additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder for each egg you replace with this for leavening.