These incredible vegan brownies are not for the faint-hearted. They are every true chocolate lover's dream. Think of them as death by chocolate, in brownie form!
Out of all vegan chocolate brownie recipes, this is the one to go for when you want full-on decadence.
Fudgy and rich with a slightly crisp crinkle top layer and an intense chocolate flavor.
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Taste - This vegan brownies recipe features freshly brewed espresso which intensifies the deep chocolate flavor.
- Texture - They have high sugar and fat-to-flour ratio and with good reason. This makes them so moist, fudgy, dense, chewy, and gooey without being cakey.
- Level of Ease - Pretty easy to make, only con is you'll need to dirty a few bowls for the different steps.
- Best Served - Anytime you're craving chocolate! Seriously though, they're a great weekend bake that you can stash in the fridge for during the week (you'll thank yourself for it).
- Free-From - Completely eggless and dairy-free, they're also nut-free provided you check the labels on the vegan butter you use.
🥚 The Best Substitute for Eggless Brownies?
I tried these brownies with several egg replacements during the recipe testing stage.
Greek-style dairy-free yogurt made them too fluffy and cakey, oh and they broke apart and become sort of crumbly. Eek!
I was keen to make vegan brownies without applesauce as I'm personally not a fan of how the flavor reacts with the cocoa. But I did try them with baking soda instead of baking powder, and it seemed to react with the other acids in the recipe and made them taste like apples. Yes, apples! Not what I was going for.
I kept coming back to aquafaba, which is an ingredient I regularly use in baking (like Devil's food cake, Tres Leches, and Blondies). And as expected, it also works incredibly well for that shiny top you see in these vegan crinkle brownies.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Here's everything you need to make the best vegan brownies ever from scratch:
If you love chocolate desserts, don't miss these decadent chocolate cupcakes, vegan chocolate cake, and chocolate cheesecake recipes!
Ingredient Notes
- Hot espresso. You can also use very strong coffee, most importantly it needs to be HOT. This will dissolve the brown sugar which is important to help give them a crinkle top.
- Aquafaba. This is an egg substitute commonly used in vegan baking. Basically, the viscous liquid from a can of chickpeas (chickpea brine). It's whipped with sugar, similar to the technique of making meringue or pavlova, as it helps to form the crust on top of the brownies.
- Brown sugar. This keeps the brownies moist whereas granulated sugar gives them structure.
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder. This is alkalized cocoa powder, you can check the package for acidity regulators such as potassium carbonates if you're unsure of your brand.
- Vegan block butter. It truly needs to be block butter, and not the spreadable kind from the tub. I normally use either Flora Plant Butter or Violife Block which I love.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Brownies
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
This vegan brownie recipe features a few techniques that are commonly used in both conventional and vegan baking, which combined work together to give you the fudgiest and most flavorful vegan brownie, ever!
- Melt the dark chocolate and vegan butter in a heat-resistant bowl over a double boiler.
- Whisk together the brown sugar and hot espresso until the sugar has dissolved.
- Whisk in the cocoa powder and vanilla until smooth.
- Whip the aquafaba in a large clean bowl or stand mixer for 5 minutes, until soft peaks form.
- Slowly add the granulated sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, and whisk for 30 seconds each time to combine the sugar into the aquafaba.
- Add the melted chocolate and butter to the bowl with the brown sugar cocoa and espresso mixture and whisk to combine.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the aquafaba until combined.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients until combined, and there are no visible pockets of flour.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the surface with a spatula.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 175°C (350°F).
📝 Recipe Tips
Melt the chocolate slowly. Make sure absolutely no water gets into the bowl as you melt it.
Wait for the brownies to cool completely before slicing them. I recommend letting them chill in the fridge for a couple of hours, as they will firm up and make it easier to get clean cuts.
Don't overbake them. They purposely have a quite short baking time as this helps to give a dense and fudgy consistency.
Not that these fudgy brownies need any extra frills, but you can always level them up by adding a scoop of non-dairy vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a good drizzle of melted chocolate or caramel sauce.
💬 FAQs
For a nice fudgy brownie consistency, store them in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days.
When refrigerated, they will become quite solid (fine if that's what you're going for!). But they will stay fresh for longer! They keep in a sealed container in the fridge for over a week.
Just take them out to sit at room temperature for an hour before serving to bring them back to a softer consistency.
I haven't tried them yet, but you could use a GF flour blend in place of plain flour to test them as gluten-free. Alternatively, I recommend trying these almond flour brownies instead.
Yes, individually wrap them in parchment or separate them with sheets of parchment paper and place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag. You can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Dissolving sugar in hot liquid helps to give brownies a shiny crust.
Additionally, adding hot liquid to cocoa powder is known as blooming, a process that draws out its rich flavor. (ref: The Spruce Eats)
🍫 More Vegan Brownie Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Description
Ingredients
- 170 g (1 ⅓ cups) plain flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 200 g (7.05 oz) vegan dark chocolate, (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
- 200 g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) vegan block butter, *see notes
- 100 g (½ cup) soft brown sugar, or unrefined cane sugar
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) hot espresso
- 50 g (½ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, *see notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
- 100 g (⅖ cup) aquafaba, *see notes
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar, *see notes
- 100 g (⅗ cup) vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a 7x9" rectangular pan or an 8" square pan with some parchment paper, and create a parchment sling to make it easy to lift out the brownies once ready.Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate: Add the dark chocolate and vegan butter to a heat-resistant bowl. Place the bowl on top of a saucepan that is about ¼ ways filled with simmering water (bain-marie). Allow it to melt slowly.While the chocolate melts, continue with the next steps.
- Make the brown sugar espresso cocoa syrup: To a medium bowl, add the brown sugar and hot espresso. Whisk for a minute until the sugar has dissolved into the hot liquid.Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and whisk again until smooth. Set aside.
- Whisk the aquafaba: Add the aquafaba to a large clean bowl or stand mixer and whisk with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes until soft peaks form. Slowly add the granulated sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, and whisk for 30 seconds each time to combine the sugar into the aquafaba. Continue until all of the sugar has been incorporated.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Once the chocolate and butter have melted completely, stir them until smooth. Add them to the bowl with the brown sugar cocoa and espresso mixture and whisk to combine.
- Fold the aquafaba: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the whipped aquafaba and carefully fold them through using a spatula.
- Mix the batter: Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and carefully whisk until combined, and there are no visible pockets of flour.Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared brownie pan and smooth out the surface using a spatula.
- Bake: Bake for 25-30 minutes. To check they're ready, insert a toothpick or skewer, it should come out with a little bit of batter and some moist crumbs.
- Serving: Allow the brownies to cool completely for 30 minutes to an hour before cutting them into servings. For best results chill them in the fridge for 1-2 hours before slicing them with a sharp knife.
- Storage: For a nice fudgy brownie consistency, store them in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days. When refrigerated, they will become quite solid. But they will stay fresh for longer! They keep in a sealed container in the fridge for over a week.
Notes
- Vegan butter: Make sure you use vegan block butter NOT spreadable butter from a tub. I use Violife Block or Flora Plant Butter.
- Aquafaba: The liquid part from tinned chickpeas (chickpea brine).
- Dutch-processed cocoa: This is alkalized cocoa powder, check the package for acidity regulators such as potassium carbonates if you're unsure of your brand.
- Some sugar in the US is not vegan, if in doubt use organic sugar.
- Wait for the brownies to cool completely before slicing them. Let them chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.
- Add a scoop of non-dairy vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a good drizzle of melted chocolate or caramel sauce.
- Don't overbake them. They purposely have a quite short baking time as this helps to give a dense and fudgy consistency.
Nutrition
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