Vegan Brownie
It is safe to say that brownies are everybody's favorite type of dessert. And how can it be otherwise given their rich chocolate interior?! As the title suggests, today's recipe is a brownie recipe. But not for any brownie - a brownie that does not contain animal products and is every bit as delicious as the classical one.
If you have been following my blog for a while, you must have noticed that I love using aquafaba in my vegan desserts. To me, it is the magical ingredient that makes most vegan dreams come true. In this recipe, the aquafaba makes the brownie light and melt-in-the-mouth. The texture of this vegan brownie resembles closely the texture of the classical brownie - soft, gooey, and slightly crumbly.
Another excellent aspect of today's recipe is the lack of white sugar and flour. On the contrary, the recipe makes use of dates to sweeten up the dessert and contains gluten-free coconut flour. Let us now jump to the recipe for this truly mouth-watering brownie.
Ingredients:
50 g dark chocolate
15 g peanut butter
3 Medjool dates
150 ml aquafaba *
30 g coconut sugar **
40 g coconut flour
1 tsp vanilla powder (or extract)
[optional] 1 tbsp powdered coconut milk ***
[optional] cacao powder
Preparation:
Blend the dates and the peanut butter together using a blender or a hand-mixer. You should end up with a smooth consistency.
Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler.
Add the dates and peanut butter mash to the melted dark chocolate and mix well. The consistency will turn a bit thicker which is completely normal and will not obstruct the success of the recipe.
In a bowl, whisk the aquafaba and the vanilla using a hand/stand mixer. When hard peaks start to form (after about 5 minutes of whisking), start adding the coconut sugar gradually and keep whisking. In the end, the mixture would be able to hold well by itself.
Add 1-2 tbsp of the whisked aquafaba to the chocolate mixture and mix well. This will thin out the chocolate and will make it easy to incorporate it into the aquafaba.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the aquafaba and mix gently to combine everything.
Finally, add the coconut flour and the powdered milk (if using) and mix well to combine.
Transfer the batter into a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees C for about 45-50 minutes, then turn off the oven and let the brownie inside to cool down.
Take the brownie out of the over, sprinkle some cacao powder (if using), and start digging into the dessert! Happy baking!
Tips:
* The aquafaba should be chilled overnight before using.
** The coconut sugar is added to the aquafaba, so to be well-absorbed by it, you should make it in an icing coconut sugar using a blender or coffee grinder.
** The powdered coconut milk can be found in bio shops. It is optional for this recipe, but if you already have it at home, I highly recommend adding it to the dessert for extra softness.