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 nutsMore chocolate (your favourite candy bar, for example)Crushed cookies or cookie doughFruits like cherries or raspberriesSpices. 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 sugarCornflourCocoa powder (not hot chocolate mix)Baking powderGround flax seedsAquafaba (water from a can of unsalted chickpeas or beans)WaterRefined coconut oilDark chocolate (1-2 of your favourite brands)Light brown sugarVanilla extractGround star aniseOrange zestFine salt
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If you like this recipe, you’ll love these Vegan Rice Krispie Treats made with REAL vanilla! How to make Vegan Crackled Midnight Brownies Love Sanjana Share this recipe
