Vegan

Name: Vegan Classic Brownies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped (NOT chocolate chips); 1/4 cup plant-based butter; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup warm water; 6 Tbsp corn starch; 1 cup granulated sugar (can be raw, white, brown, or coconut); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa; 1 cup + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour

Vegan Classic Brownies

July 1, 2020 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

A vegan version of my favorite brownies! These Vegan Classic Brownies are delicious, chewy, and complete with a delicate, crackly top. I promise you won’t miss the eggs or dairy in this easy recipe!

Vegan Classic Brownies

You all have been asking me for vegan brownies for months now, and I’m so excited to finally have this recipe for you! After lots of trial and error, I’ve landed on a mix of simple ingredients so you can make Vegan Classic Brownies at home when the chocolate craving hits.

I’m going to go ahead and put it out there that I don’t recommend any substitutes for this recipe. Trust me. I tried this recipe with flaxseed meal, aquafaba, egg replacers, chocolate chips, and many different amounts of flour and cocoa powder. I think it wasn’t until my 9th test that I finally figured out the perfect formula of ingredients.

Most importantly, you must use chopped chocolate for this recipe. Chocolate chips will not work. If you’ve made my brownie recipes before, this will seem odd given that I always use chocolate chips to achieve beautiful brownies. But this recipe is different. The eggs have been replaced with corn starch and water, and there is a lot more flour! And you have to use chopped chocolate. Or your brownie batter will boil and bubble, refuse to set, and be a gritty brownie mess! So trust me, and use your favorite vegan chocolate bars!

The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

Solid chocolate bar(s) – I like to use the $5 dark chocolate Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s. If that’s not an option, feel free to use your favorite vegan chocolate bars! (I’ve also made these brownies with the Moser-Roth chocolate bars from Aldi)
Plant-based butter – I’ve had success using both Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter sticks
Olive oil
Vanilla extract
Corn starch + water – the magic binder for these vegan brownies!! I’m not sure if arrowroot or tapioca starch will work, so I can only recommend corn starch
Sugar – feel free to use your favorite granulated sugar. I like to use a 50:50 mix of coconut and raw or regular cane sugar
Salt
Baking powder – this will add lift to the brownies since there are no whipped eggs to provide lift
Dutch-process cocoa powder – this cocoa powder has a darker color and deeper flavor than natural cocoa powder. The Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa is now 100% Dutched and the easiest to find in US grocery stores
All-purpose flour

Yield: 16 Small Brownies

Vegan Classic Brownies

Delicious and chewy Classic Brownies made vegan! I promise you won't miss the eggs or dairy in this easy brownie recipe!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes

Ingredients

8oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped (NOT chocolate chips)
1/4 cup plant-based butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
6 Tbsp corn starch
1 cup granulated sugar (can be raw, white, brown, or coconut)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 cup + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8" baking dish with non-stick spray and parchment paper. I like to cut one long, thin strip of parchment paper to cover the bottom + two sides of the dish. Then fold the excess over the two edges and trim with scissors, keeping about a 1/2" of excess paper.
In a microwaveable bowl, add the chopped chocolate, plant butter, and olive oil. Heat in 15-30 second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is all melted and smooth; set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the warm water and corn starch. Use a firm spoon to mix the two until they reach a thin, uniform consistency - it's normal for it to be goopy and thick at first.
Add the corn starch mix to a large bowl, along with the sugar. Mix for about 30 seconds. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
Add the salt and baking powder. Then sift in the cocoa powder and flour. Use a large spoon or spatula to mix the ingredients all together, until no flour pockets remain. The batter will be more like a sticky cookie dough. It will be a lot thicker than traditional brownie batter.
Spoon the batter into your prepared baking dish. Use your fingers to gently spread, press, and smooth the batter into the dish, making an even layer of batter.
Bake the brownies at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until the center looks firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few big crumbs.
Allow brownies to cool completely before lifting them up and out of the baking dish with the parchment paper "tabs". Slice the brownies into 9 or 16 equal pieces.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

After multiple tests for this recipe, I recommend you only follow this recipe as written
You must use chopped chocolate bars and NOT chocolate chips. When this same recipe was made with chocolate chips, the batter boiled in the oven and never set
I like to use the Pound Plus chocolate bars from Trader Joe's here in the US. Both of their "dark chocolate" bars are free of dairy

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 193Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 113mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 1g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

Did you make this recipe?

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Tomato Harissa Tart with Homemade Puff Pastry (vegan option)

June 17, 2020 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

A spicy Tomato Harissa Tart made with an easy homemade puff pastry! Put your tomatoes and garlic to use in this seriously delicious, savory tart! With a flakey, “buttery” crust, this tart makes for a perfect appetizer or snack.

Tomato Harissa Tart

When my husband brought home a pack of red-brown kumato tomatoes, I set out to make my first ever savory Sugared & Stirred recipe! Now, this recipe is very simple, and, to be honest, isn’t much of a “recipe”. I had a small jar of unopened harissa paste in my pantry, lots of kumato tomatoes, and a craving for something buttery, garlicky, and relatively simple to make.

After Googling “homemade puff pastry” I came across two similar recipes from Baking a Moment and An Italian in My Kitchen to help me along the way. I used plant-based butter in place of the regular butter (and less of it) and then kind of just winged it on the whole laminating thing.

Once the dough had been rolled and chilled three times, I topped it with a simple egg wash (or melted coconut oil if vegan), the harissa paste, salted tomato slices, and big pieces of sliced garlic (optional, but who doesn’t love garlic?!). The end result is a beautiful, Summer-y tart bursting with flavor. And if you’re not dairy-free, I won’t fault you for indulging in a bit of store-bought puff pastry. You do, you. But whatever you do, make this tart!

What is Harissa Paste?

Harissa paste is a red, spicy Tunisian hot chili pepper paste made with herbs and spices like garlic, coriander, and caraway. I got mine from Trader Joe’s (here in the US), but there are homemade recipes you can make, if that’s your thing. Bon Appétit has one that sounds delicious.

If you like your food spicy, then I recommend spreading 2-3 whole tablespoons over your dough. For a less spicy pastry, you could do just 1 tablespoon – a little goes a long way in the spice department.

How to Make Dairy-Free Puff Pastry

I promise you that making your own puff pastry is not as difficult as it may seem. And if you’re vegan or follow a dairy-free diet, then you have no choice but to make your own (as far as I know anyway)!

You’ll start by mixing flour with a little bit of salt, and then you’ll use a fork to mix in cubes of cold butter. I like to cut my plant butter into cubes and then pop them back in the refrigerator for a few minutes to let them chill. Once all of the cold butter cubes have been added to the flour mixture and are well coated with flour, you’ll add some ice cold water (sans ice). You want to mix the dough until it just comes together. It will look “shaggy” and a bit crumbly.

At this point, you’ll turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to bring it all together, kneading the dough ball a few times until it’s no longer crumbly. But you don’t want the butter to melt, so be sure you only knead it a few times! You want to see lots of butter chunks in the dough – this is what gives the pastry the flakey rise. You’ll wrap and chill the dough before laminating it.

To laminate the dough, you’ll roll the dough into a large rectangle and then fold the two shorter edges to meet in the middle. Then you’ll turn the pastry dough and fold it like a book. You’ll re-chill the dough and repeat this process two more times before building your tart.

Yield: 8 Slices

Tomato Harissa Tart with Homemade Puff Pastry

A bright and Summer-y tart topped with spicy harissa, tomatoes, and lots of fresh garlic. With a homemade puff pastry, this delicious tart can easily be made vegan!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Puff Pastry

1 cup (2 sticks) cold plant-based butter, cubed
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup ice cold water

Topping/Filling

6 small tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp harissa paste
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 egg for egg wash (or coconut oil if vegan)

Instructions

Prepare the Puff Pastry

Cut your plant butter into cubes and place in the refrigerator to chill for 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the chilled, cubed butter and stir gently with a fork, leaving the chunks of butter intact. Once the butter cubes are all coated with flour, add the ice cold water (but no ice). Use a fork to gently bring the dough together - it will look shaggy and a bit crumbly. Do not over-mix it!
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to bring it together into a ball and then gently knead it a few times. You don't want the chunks of butter to melt, so it's important to work quickly and be careful not to over-handle the dough.
Flatten the dough ball to a disc shape, wrap in plastic or parchment paper, and refrigerate for an hour or until the dough has firmed up.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle. Fold the short sides up into the middle until the meet. Then turn the pastry and fold the dough together like a book. You should be left with a small, folded rectangle of dough. Re-wrap this dough and chill for another 30 minutes. Repeat this process two more times. Finally, after the third roll and fold, chill the dough for an hour.
Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet. Roll the chilled dough out into a rectangle roughly 1/8"-1/4" thick. Feel free to trim up any rough edges or leave as-is.
In a small bowl, beat 1 egg and then lightly brush the egg over the surface of the pastry. Transfer the pastry (along with the parchment paper) to a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Build + Bake the Tart

Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle salt on both sides of each tomato slice. Allow salted slices to sit for 5 minutes (they will release lots of excess juice/moisture).
Meanwhile, slice the garlic and set aside.
Spread harissa paste over the cold puff pastry, leaving about a 1/2" border.
Top the harissa paste with the tomato slices (shaking off + discarding the excess juice) and then the garlic slices. Chill the tart (on the baking sheet) for 10 minutes.
Bake the tart at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until the edges have puffed and are golden brown.
Slice into 8 pieces and enjoy!