Easy eggless brownies

Easy eggless brownies

easy eggless brownies cut

Hope you guys have had a good week and perhaps feel like a spot of weekend baking? If so I have a new recipe to offer up, which is super easy to make and guaranteed to brighten up your weekend. I made a tray of simple vegan brownies featuring a crackly top and a fudgy interior. I’ve resisted the temptation to add any nuts or extra chocolate to the batter as I wanted a simple, base recipe this time, but you can make them your own, of course.

Cos I’m in a bit of an indulgent mood this week, I’ve made no attempts to make these brownies healthy – so unlike me, I know! They are based on my last year’s recipe for flourless brownies, which are rather popular, but I used oil instead of nut butter and plain flour instead of almond flour. There is a bit of a debate in my house as to how sweet these guys should be. Duncan loves them as sweet as they are and says that if I am going all out I should go all out – you cannot argue with that – but…but I personally prefer them a touch (2 tbsp or so) less sweet. Sweetness is always up for a debate as it’s such an individual thing so adjust to your preference but please remember that sugar is responsible for so much more than just sweetness in baked goods, it provides moisture and structure, which are both crucial, especially in the absence of eggs.

What makes these brownies so good is the use of good old aquafaba, which I’ve been experimenting with pretty much since the inception of this blog and I’ve used it in countless recipes to great effect. For the newish or budding vegans amongst you, aquafaba is nothing to be scared of. If you can consume chickpeas (you can obtain it from other pulses too but I eat so many chickpeas that I’ve stuck with chickpea aquafaba), you are fine to consume aquafaba as it’s simply the water chickpeas have been cooked in. It is often traditionally consumed in many cuisines, where it is added to soups, stews and dips to thicken them and add a velvety texture. So don’t believe it when people tell you that it’s harmful – pulses are one of the healthiest things on the planet. While you can simply open a can or a jar of chickpeas, I find that it is so much better and cheaper to just make it yourself from dry chickpeas and if you cannot use it up straight away, you can always simply freeze it for later.

While some recipes, like this chocolate or peanut butter mousse, require aquafaba to be whipped to stiff peaks (which can take a bit of practice to get right), this recipe is way simpler and there are virtually no pastry skills required. Aquafaba simply needs to be foamy and frothy (see photos below), which happens within seconds so don’t be put off. Making brownies with aquafaba rather than flax (like this recipe) also has the advantage of there being no bits of flax getting stuck between your teeth. As you can tell, I am a big fan of this waste-free egg white replacer devised by a genius French tenor. It amuses me when people tell me ‘it’s gross’ – really? Do you realise eggs come out of a chicken’s bum?! – and I hope to encourage more and more people to use it for the sake of reducing waste, saving male baby chicks and helping our dying planet.

easy eggless brownies ingredients

easy eggless brownies aquafaba before after

easy eggless brownies aquafaba melted chocolate

easy eggless brownies making

easy eggless brownies cutting

easy eggless brownies whole cut

easy eggless brownies stack

makes
9-16 pieces
PREP
15 min
COOKING
23 min
makes
9-16 pieces
PREPARATION
15 min
COOKING
23 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 150 g / 5¼ oz vegan 70% cocoa dark chocolate
  • 100 g / ½ cup odourless coconut oil (or vegan block)
  • 120 ml / ½ cup aquafaba (chickpea brine), from a tin or from home cooked chickpeas
  • 200 g / 1 cup sugar* (caster sugar gives you the crispiest outer shell, but coconut sugar works well too!)
  • 160 g / 1¼ cups plain flour / all purpose flour**
  • 50 g / scant ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp baking soda (GF certified if needed)
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
METHOD
  1. Place broken up chocolate and coconut oil in a metal or glass bowl suspended over a bain-marie / water bath. Melt very slowly (on a low heat) and make sure the bowl with chocolate does not touch the water underneath as chocolate does not tolerate intense heat.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F. Line a 20 cm x 20 cm  / 8 inch x 8 inch baking tin with baking parchment. Make the baking parchment stick out of the tin so that you’re able to remove the brownies from the tin a little easier.
  3. Whip aquafaba with an electric whisk until foamy (there is no need to achieve stiff peaks for this recipe).
  4. Gradually add sugar to the aquafaba, whisking well after each addition.
  5. Using a spatula, fold melted, lukewarm but not hot, chocolate and coconut oil mixture into the aquafaba mixture.
  6. Place a sieve over the bowl and sift through all of the dry ingredients in batches, mixing well until no cocoa or flour pockets remain. The batter should be fairly thick.
  7. Transfer the batter into the prepared baking tin and spread it into the sides and corners with a spatula.
  8. Bake on the middle shelf for about 23 minutes. Baking time depends on how fudgy you like your brownies and on your oven, but when it comes to brownies it’s better to underbake them than to overbake them***.
  9. Allow the brownies to cool down completely (!) before cutting with a sharp knife.

NOTES
*I used 150 g / ¾ cup caster sugar and 50 g / ¼ cup demerara sugar. You can certainly use less sugar if you prefer, I would suggest no less than 150 g / ¾ cup as it will affect the structure and texture of the brownies.

**Use 1 cup all purpose GF flour mix and ¼ cup tapioca starch for GF version.

***It’s hard to determine when brownies are cooked right due to the fact that they should be quite dense and wet inside. One way to get an idea is to insert a toothpick in the middle of the baking tray and if it comes out just a bit gooey (not overly wet), they are probably ready.

This recipe is based on my flourless brownie recipe.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
197
10%
sugars
16 g
17%
fats
10 g
15%
saturates
8 g
40%
proteins
3 g
6%
carbs
27 g
10%
*per brownie
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5.0
11 reviews, 17 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Hazel:
Lovely recipe, they came out really well. I think my oven might run a little hot, I will bake them for a shorter time next time as they were slightly crumbly at 23 minutes.
I put chocolate chips on top before baking and the end result looked and tasted great.
Thanks so much for such a good recipe, the use of aquafaba was really clever and I'm looking forward to trying them again
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you Hazel, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed these in general. Yes, it does sound like they were perhaps a little overbaked so next time, start checking on them at say 180-20 minute mark - better under than over when it comes to brownies. Ania
Yvonne Howard:
This was a delicious recipe, very chocolatey and nice texture. I cooked it exactly for 23 minutes on fan setting and might do it a few minutes less next time for a slightly more fudgy texture. I was baking for a vegan but am not vegan myself and honestly did not notice a difference in flavour or texture from my regular recipe. Thanks for a great recipe that will be my go to brownies!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw thanks so much Yvonne! I am so pleased to hear that you enjoyed these brownies and plan to make them again - especially that you aren't even vegan - that's so lovely to hear. Sounds like they came out well but FYI typically fan function makes an oven hotter by approximately 20° C / 70° F (the temperature in the recipe is without fan). Thank you so much for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it. x Ania
Becca:
Can any of your recipes such as eggless brownies or raspberry brownies be made with a substitute for the 1 cup of sugar, either dates or maple syrup? I cannot eat granulated sugar.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Becca,
    How about a different type of sugar perhaps? Coconut sugar or demerara sugar, for example? You could technically use maple syrup but as it's a liquid type of sweetener that would require changes to the recipe and I haven't tested that so this is my best guess based on my baking experience. If you were to use ¾ - 1 cup of maple syrup in these brownies, I would simply halve the amount of aquafaba and they will probably need a slightly longer cook. Dates won't produce that shiny shell that good brownies are renowned for and again the recipe would a substantial adjustment. Hope this helps! x Ania
Ana maria:
Saludos. En sus recetas usa el jarabe de arce como se puede reemplazar?
Gracias por la respuesta
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi,
    I don't speak Spanish unfortunately. It depends on the recipe but usually it can be replaced with other liquid sweetener like brown rice syrup or agave syrup (however the amount may differ a little as they are not quite the same level of sweetness). This brownie recipe uses sugar so no problem here. x Ania
June Hayes:
Best brownies ever! I have never been able to make a really delicious brownie, especially a vegan brownie - until this recipe. Moist, fudgy, chewy and richly chocolate. They are best after sitting for a few hours. Try to keep from cutting into them right out of the oven as the texture develops as they cool completely. I made the recipe exactly wthout any changes, except after they were cooled I glazed them with a thin coating of chocalate glaze. Thanks for this recipe. It's a keeper.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much for your kind words, June! I'm delighted to hear that these were such a success! And I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this review. They help me feel like my efforts are worthwhile and help my blog grow – thank you. x Ania
Lucy Daniel:
Ania, thank you for sharing the recipe! This is the most delicious vegan brownie I've ever tasted. I prefer my brownies to be much sweeter, so I added more sugar. I also added nuts and extra chocolate to make it more appealing to children. Finally, everyone enjoys the perfect crust and slightly fluffy interior.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank Lucy, I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed it! I got a bit worried when you said the interior was fluffy (as it's meant to be fudgy) but to remedy it you simply need to bake them for less time, unless you do like them more cakey. Ania
Hi Ania,
First time trying your recipes and it was delicious! We used a combo of cocoa butter and coconut oil and melted chocolate chips instead of using a baking bar and something about that combination made it very chewy and fudgy. Thank you for the great recipe! Looking forward to trying more! :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi KS,
    Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed these. Ania
Amy:
Thank you Ania 😊 I used 50% spelt and they turned out just as delicious 😋
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Amy! I'm delighted to hear that they came out well and thanks so much for taking the time to review - I really appreciate it! x Ania
Nicole:
Best vegan brownie I've tried!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks Nicole, I'm really chuffed to hear that! Ania
Amy:
Hi Ania, I have already made these once and they were delicious! I'm making them again today and wondering if I could use spelt flour instead of plain white flour?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Great to hear that, Amy! I think so as gluten development isn't that important in this case so a low gluten flour *should* work well too. Ania
Suzanna:
Made these as soon as I saw them in my inbox and they exceeded my expectations. Not only are they dead simple to make but they also taste just like brownies made with eggs! This is by far my most favourite vegan brownie recipe to date. Thank you, Ania!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much, Suzanna! I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed these so much and thank you for taking the time to leave a review, much appreciated. Ania
Leigh Colombick:
Hi Ania,
Thank you very much once again for a successful easy to make recipe!
I have been exploring vegan chocolate brownie recipes for a while now and was very happy with texture of this recipe. It formed the perfect crust and seems to be a good combination of gooey/fudgy to appease any discerning chocolate brownie lovers tastes. I really appreciated your taking the time to respond to my Instagram tag and advice at how to manage the intensity of the chocolate flavour given the specific ingredients that I used. I am going to try this recipe again cutting down the raw cocoa powder I used to half the quantity, replacing it with plain flour. I look forward to experimenting further, but am very pleased with my first immediate results and simplicity of this recipe :-).
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks for your kind words, Leigh! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed these so much and I hope the next version will be the one. x Ania
Shelly:
what can I sub for the aquafaba? I won't use bean juice as an ingredient. LOL Flax egg?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Shelly,
    I haven't tried, but I think you are better off making a recipe that was designed using a different egg replacer, like this or that one. Hope that helps! Ania
    PS: you do eat beans, right? Aquafaba is just the water they have been cooked in...nothing gross about that!
Carol:
Hi Ania,
Thanks for this recipe.
While I do not have any food allergies, I have made the decision to not use any type of wheat flour or any kind of granulated sugar except for coconut sugar.
Also, I am experimenting with adding other natural sweeteners, such as - thoroughly processed Medjool dates(or other dates), apricots, cherries, and other dried,
reconstituted fruits made into paste in a processor and, once-in-a-while, maple syrup(but, very little). It'll be fun experimenting with these types of substitutions!
~Carol
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Carol. Good on you, wishing you lots of fruitful (pun unintended) experiments! x Ania
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