A well-baked brownie is like a gift from the chocolate gods. The top crust should be glossy with a thin crinkly tissue-like appearance. You break through this with your fork before sinking into thick fudginess. They are
- Naughty
- Delicious
- Decadent
- Indulgent
- Chocolatey
They are less of a cake and more of a dessert. Warm and drizzled with some cream is total heaven.
These brownies are studded with green jewel-like pistachios.
Super easy to make and just one bowl is needed, so not a ton of washing up. There is no need for special equipment or mixers.
The most difficult thing I find in making vegan and also gluten-free brownies is making them fudgy enough and binding them together. Normally chia seeds, flaxseeds, apple sauce or mashed banana. You do not need any of these ingredients, just basic store cupboard ingredients.
I would declare anyone to notice that these are not only vegan but also gluten-free.
The ingredients Needed
Dairy-free Butter For this recipe I prefer to use block vegan butter such as Flora. I think this gives them a richer flavour. Any vegan butter can be used though as long as it is suitable for baking.
The Sugar
Caster sugar in this recipe. I find that this gives it a fudgier texture, which is what we are looking for in a chocolate brownie.
The Flour
I used gluten-free plain flour in this recipe, if you are not coeliac or have a wheat intolerance just use your usual plain flour.
Chocolate
A lot of people prefer dark chocolate for brownies but I like vegan milk chocolate. You can either choose a bar and cut it up or use the chocolate drops. I save some to place into the whole cake when it comes out of the oven and is still warm.
Vanilla paste
In baking I prefer vanilla paste instead of the extract. This is mainly because it contains those lovely speckles of seeds.
Coffee Extract
This is optional but there is a good reason to use coffee or coffee extract in chocolate cake. It adds a depth of flavour, boosting the chocolate flavour.
Chocolate & Pistachio Brownies
Preparation Time 10 Minutes
Baking Time 25 Minutes
Makes 9
Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy free
Ingredients
Instructions large
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line an 8 by 8-inch cake tin with baking parchment.
- In a large bowl add the butter and heat in the microwave for a minute or until melted. Stir the sugar into the melted butter until combined. Next, add the milk, vanilla paste and coffee extract if using.
- Sieve into the wet ingredients the flour and the cocoa powder and the salt, baking powder and xanthan gum. Fold through until mixed in but do not over-mix. Stir through the chocolate chips and pistachios.
- The mixture will be quite thick but that’s fine. Scrape into the prepared tins and smooth out with your hands or spatula.
- Place into the oven on the middle shelf and then bake for 20-25 minutes. The brownies should still wobble in the middle, that is fine as they will firm up as they cool. Too long in the oven and they will become hard and cakey. The fudgy texture we associate with brownies will be gone.
- Once removed from the oven, allow the brownies to cool completely in the tin before removing them onto a board. This ensures they are firm enough to cut into portions.
- Brownies are at their best served warm with some cream, they can always be warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave.
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- Tried & Tested February/March 2023
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- Chocolate & Pistachio Brownies
If you like this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of my recipes. Or I would love to hear your comments.
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