Being vegan is generally easy. When met with curious eyes and questioning remarks; I generally describe it as “being a vegetarian without the eggs and cheese”.  But those who choose to avoid all animal products – whether to live more ethically, sustainably, or just to be a little healthier– know that occasionally there is a little something missing.

While we can switch our products to vegan friendly versions, and find new and inventive ways to turn nuts into absolutely anything; there is one thing that I’m sure we all secretly crave that is rarely fulfilled…gooey chocolate heaven! As a veteran chocoholic, since going vegan my taste for the sweet brown stuff has waned. Admittedly this is more due to the lack of good vegan chocolate readily available in Cornwall, than a taming of my own desires.

But all this has changed now that this delicious, gooey, naughty and downright heavenly vegan chocolate brownie has entered my life! In fact, whether you are a vegan or not, you HAVE To try this recipe!!

Vegan Chocolate Passion

 

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons cold water
• 2 Tablespoons ground flax
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
•  ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 7 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into rough chunks (I chose my favourite Dark Hazelnut by Seed and Bean)
• 1 teaspoon ground coffee
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 80 grams soy or vegetable butter/margarine
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of linseeds

Method

1. Preheat your oven to about 180 °C and line a baking tin with a thick layer of soy or vegetable spread.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax and cold water, put aside to thicken (this makes your vegan egg!)
3. In another bowl mix together cocoa powder, chocolate, coffee and salt. Add the boiling water and quickly mix into the chocolate mixture to make an incredibly thick paste.

1. Once mixed in (with a few lumps of chocolate left in for an extra surprise later!) add in the sugar, spread, flax mixture and vanilla essence. As you start to stir, the mixture will take on an almost dough like texture. Keep mixing, adding the walnuts and linseeds before all the water had been completely adsorbed.

1. Spoon the mix into the baking tin – patting down and much as you can – and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Stop to the lick the spoon and relax.

1. Once cooked, place the baking tin on a wire rack and leave to cool for as long as you can wait. If you want warm gooeyness delve in after about 30 minutes, otherwise wait a full hour for them to harden more. I left mine in the fridge overnight so I could cut into smaller cake bites.
2. Now for the added passion!! I think chocolate is always best served with fresh fruit. Raspberries or strawberries are a yummy accompaniment; but as weird as it may look, I’ve served my brownies with a topping of passion fruit. The tart sweetness really works, and adds a sharp contrast to the sickly richness of the chocolate.