Vegan raspberry brownies

Vegan raspberry brownies

vegan raspberry brownies baked uncut

Dark chocolate and raspberries…What a heavenly combo! It is one of my personal favourites at least! As I have lived on an arid rock in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea (also known as Paros) for the past four years, I have missed berries big time. Raspberries in particular! So I’m starting my raspberry season a little early this year. Tina the cat and myself made you a tray of gooey raspberry brownies today. If you follow us on Instagram and have seen yesterday’s story, you’ll know what I’m referring to.

Our sweet Tina has this endearing habit of assisting me on my photoshoots. She gets particularly enthused when there are a lot of cables hanging around and sometimes she can be a bit of a menace as she starts chasing my laptop cable when I’m in the middle of a tricky take. If I don’t spot her in time, all my elaborately prepared food could end up on the floor… Other than that she is a lot of fun and melts my heart on a daily basis.

Today, I had breakfast outside as I’m trying to soak up any bit of sunshine I’m given and she came over, arranged herself on my feet and demanded constant belly rubs looking all pleased with herself. The exact same thing happened at lunch and it made me muse on how I never even thought I liked cats before. How can you not? They are so adorbs…as we say in this house 😉 .

I love hanging out with her, but I am a bit worried about her not getting enough ‘independent cat time’ outside, so I encourage her to be out as much as I can. She will stay out happily when Duncan or I are in the garden, but isn’t that comfortable on her own due to the bully cat who lives next door and who continues to seek her out and attack her.

I tried to talk to his owner about some sort of time share arrangement, but she has been ignoring all my texts so I finally gave up on this idea and reconciled with having to walk Tina out as much as I can. It’s bad enough as it is but last week things took a turn for the worse!

I had to leave the house for a few hours. Tina was sleeping on my bed but, as the weather was lovely, I left the bedroom window ajar so that she can could go out if she fancied it at some point. When I got home a few hours later, Tina was nowhere to be found and instead of Tina I found her nemesis casually roaming in OUR house! That takes the biscuit, doesn’t it (Tina’s commentary ‘what kind of biscuit, hooman? Toona or other fwish?’)

Not only did he terrify poor Tina who, although very timid, can be rather crafty so luckily she managed to hide in a hole under our bath, but he also left me a present in the shape of his poo on the carpet! As you can possibly imagine, I was livid and had to work really hard on not harming the bugger. I let him out and texted my neighbour about the incident immediately. I did not get as much as an apology…

It’s a really difficult situation as it breaks out hearts to see Tina so frighted of him all the time, especially that it was her comfort that made us rent a house with a large garden, which she now hardly ever uses.

People have suggested all kinds of physical deterrents to keep the other cat away, but frankly he is not scared of anything (we did buy a Supersoaker to tackle him with cold water), plus we don’t want Tina to suffer the negative consequences of some of these deterrents as, if they are likely to keep him away, the chances are they will be very unpleasant for her too. Not much we can do other than move when our contract is up, which is a bummer as finding a house that would accept a pet was mission impossible back in October.

vegan raspberry brownies ingredients

vegan raspberry brownies raw

vegan raspberry brownies macro

vegan raspberry brownies piece macro

vegan raspberry brownies cut

vegan raspberry brownies piece held

makes
20 cm / 8"
PREP
30 min
COOKING
22 min
makes
20 cm / 8"
PREPARATION
30 min
COOKING
22 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 2 tbsp flaxseed meal or chia meal
  • 225 g / 1¾ cup GF flour mix (I used Dove’s Farm*)
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 100 g / 3.5 oz vegan 70% cocoa dark chocolate
  • 40 g / heaped 1/3 cup cacao powder (I used raw)
  • 1 tsp instant coffee (optional)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 100 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp boiling water
  • 225 g / 1 heaped cup sugar (I used caster sugar**)
  • 90 ml / ¼ cup + 2 tbsp oil (I used melted coconut oil) or melted vegan butter
  • 100 g / 3.5 oz fresh raspberries
METHOD
  1. Prepare chia or flax eggs by mixing ground up seeds with 3 tbsp of water in a small bowl. Set aside to activate.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 180° C / 350° 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. Weigh your flour, add baking soda and whisk the two together with a hand egg whisk. Set aside.
  4. Boil a kettle of water.
  5. While the water is boiling, chop your chocolate very finely. Put it into a big mixing bowl, with cocao powder, instant coffee (if using) and salt. Stir well.
  6. Pour 100 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp boiling water into the chocolate, cacao powder and salt mixture. Stir with a spoon so that chocolate melts in the hot liquid. Don’t add any more water.
  7. Add in the sugar, flax egg (by this time it should have turned all sticky) and oil or melted vegan butter. Using a hand mixer, blend the mixture until it’s smooth.
  8. It’s time to add the flour and baking soda mixture. Add a little at a time and stir it into the chocolate mixture with a spoon. Do not be tempted to use an electric mixer as it will overwork the batter. If using gluten flour, be extra careful not to overwork the batter or else gluten will develop in the flour and it will affect the texture of the brownies negatively. Stir just enough until there are no flour pockets anymore, but no more than that. The batter will be super thick so you may need to use your hands towards the end.
  9. Transfer the batter into the prepared baking tin. Smooth it with a spatula and decorate with fresh raspberries.
  10. Bake on the middle shelf for about 22-24 minutes (depending on how gooey you like your brownies and on your oven). If you like to keep them gooey, stick them in the fridge once cool and they will become deliciously fudgy after a few hours (tried and tested 😉 ).

NOTES
 *You can use regular gluten flour (all purpose), but I would advise against it. The reason being is that this recipe relies on an extremely high flour to moisture ratio in order to compensate for the lack of eggs. This makes it very difficult to incorporate flour into the wet ingredients and overworking gluten flour carries the risk of developing too much gluten in the dough, which will make these a little bready.

**I have tried this recipe with white caster sugar and raw brown sugar, I suspect coconut sugar may also work, but beware that it is likely to affect the texture of these as it has slightly different properties (it’s wetter, less sweet and it’s not as good at producing crispy tops, which are so key when it comes to brownies).

This recipe is based on Mattie’s (from Vegan Baking) amazing brownie recipe. While I made some changes, all the credit for this magic brownie formula goes to him.

If you are not keen on this recipe for some reason, you can use this one instead and use raspberries instead of orange slices.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
269
13%
sugars
22 g
24%
fats
11 g
16%
saturates
3 g
17%
proteins
4 g
7%
carbs
41 g
16%
*per serving
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4.9
8 reviews, 38 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Louise:
Can I replace the GF flour with plain flour? If so - do I need to alter the quantities?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yes, you can - use same amount by weight, but make sure it's a well balanced GF flour mix (sold as plain GF flour) that contains starches rather than just one type of GF flour. Hope this helps. Ania
Vicky:
Subbed in 35g cocoa butter, 30g rapeseed oil and 30g Stork baking spread (a margarine?), melted, for the 90ml oil because I was running out of the Stork, and it still worked! I made a double batch of this for my church weekend away and it was gratefully devoured by everyone ahaha. Thanks for the recipe!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Vicky! I so happy to hear that these brownies came out so well and that they were enjoyed so much by your friends. Thank you for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it. x Ania
Andra:
Hi Ania! just gave these ago and followed the recipe. Except using a round tin with a 20cm diameter. However when I pulled them out of the oven, tested a piece from the edge and it seemed dry and crumbly. Did I overtake? I stuck them in the fridge hoping to get them gooey but not sure about the odds of succeeding. Let me know if you have any other suggestions on how to salvage please.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Andra,
    Yes, from your description it does sound like they are overdone. Could it be that your oven runs a bit hot? Not much that can be done at this stage, but they will still be enjoyable with vegan cream or ice-cream and a fruit compote. x Ania
      Andra:
      And so they were! Husband and kids devoured them nonetheless. I figured 1-2 minutes less in the oven and maybe 5 -10 F lower for next time. My oven never reaches target temperature so I always set it higher, but it sounds like I shouldn’t do it for this recipe.
        Ania
        Ania:
        Great to hear that, Andra! I would say you may want to go even further and take them out 5-10 minutes earlier depending how dry they are now (bear in mind that egde pieces will always be drier than interior pieces). x Ania
Anthea:
I love this recipe! I've used it many times and it's always a hit. sometimes I change it up by topping with chopped hazelnuts.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks Anthea! I'm delighted to hear that you enjoy these so much. And I really appreciate you taking the time to review, it really helps me out! x Ania
Michaela:
My go-to recipe which never fails. I make for my treat boxes and my family & customers all love them, a favourite with my Daughter - 'just the right amount of goo-iness x x
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Michaela, I am so happy to hear that this recipe is such a hit with your, your family and customers. I'm delighted! x Ania
Joanna:
Hi.
Can I use frozen raspberries instead of fresh ones?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Joanna,
    Yes, absolutely! You may want to dust them with a little cornstarch first so that they don't release too much water. Hope this helps! Ania
Carla Leclezio:
Love these! I had them in the summer at a bbq and finally got round to making them myself, they're so rich and delicious. Have tried them with raspberries and blackberries and both worked beautifully. Thanks so much, can't wait to try more of your recipes :) x
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you for your lovely feedback, Carla! I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed these so much! x Ania
Vicky:
I made these today, first real attempt at baking (especially vegan baking) and they are amazing! Saving this recipe to use many many times :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    That's fantastic to hear, Vicky! Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed it enough to make again! Ania
Angels:
Would it work if I use coconut flour instead of gluten free flour?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi, I don't think it will work without making changes to the recipe as coconut flour is very thirst and will make these dry and cardboard like if you swap 1:1. You may need as little as 1/2 cup of flour if you use coconut flour but I have not tested this so I am just making a guess based on my previous experience with this ingredient. Try it if you feel like taking the risk but I cannot guarantee the result. Hope this helps! Ania
Hannah:
Found these bad boys on Pinterest and the vibes looked immaculate reflecting from my screen of these glorious raspberry brownies, might i say. Had to give it a try for Father's Day! Really good and easy to make! The top however puffed up quite a bit & got more done before the middle, causing the raspberries to sink, but other than that these were a hit and everyone loved them!! Next time I will use vegan butter as the coco oil gave them more of a coconut twist, but hey I ain't mad at that ;P. Oh and the fudginess- ASTRONOMICAL. well done girl.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Hannah,
    Thanks so much, I'm very glad to hear that these have gone down so well, especially that you made them for an important occasion. Yes, coconut oil does bring its own flavour, which is why I use odourless version of it (linked in the recipe) unless I am after a coconut flavour. The top getting down quicker than the middle is exactly what should happen with brownies, the goal is to have the crispy top and gooey middle so I am not sure what you mean, but I am glad that you enjoyed them regardless. Ania
Lia:
Hello!!
Just wondering if I can use cocoa powder instead of cacao?
Thanks
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Lia,
    It should be fine, cocoa powder is usually less bitter than cacao, that's all. Ania
Helen-Mary:
Hi!
Can I make sugar-free brownies?
    Ania
    Ania:
    You mean skip sugar completely? I would not recommend it - they won't taste good at all. You could replace it with sweeteners but I have no experience in doing that, I'm afraid. Ania
Kylie:
I made with coconut flour as it’s gluten free but the batter was dry? Do I add more of something else? To salvage it? Coconut oil? Melted butter? Water?
I Should have used plain flour but I was worried to add gluten to a gluten free recipe mix!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Kylie,
    Coconut flour is very different to most flours - it is definitely way more absorbent so that's why the batter was too dry. Perhaps adding more water/plant milk might save it but I have not tested this recipe with coconut flour so I cannot be 100% sure what the outcome will be. Good luck - I hope they will turn out well. Ania
Sherwynne:
Just made this. Doubled the recipe and baked in a 9x13 glass dish. Took about 1.5 hrs!!!! And still VERY gooey in the centre.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Gooey is good when it comes to brownies, isn't it? I am not sure how to interpret your comment - I hope you enjoyed them! Ania
Aleksandra:
Czy w tym przypadku można wymieszać pół na pół mąkę zwykłą pszenną i skrobię kukurydzianą?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Jesli nie jestes GF, to zwykla maka pszenna jest okay (skrobii kukurydzianej - bo chyba o tym mowisz - nie dodawalabym az w takiej ilosci, moze 10% calosci ale nie jest to bynajmniej konieczne) ale bardzo delikatnie mieszaj gdzyz masa jest gesta i latwo w niej niechcacy aktywowac gluten zbyt enegretycznym (lub dlugim) mieszaniem - co negatywnie wyplynie na fakture tych brownies. Ania
Zohra:
Made these as an “inclusive” dessert for our allergic kids. Everyone loved them and can’t believe they are vegan or GF. Thanks for sharing!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Zohra! That's really lovely to hear! x Ania
Rose:
Hi,
Would you say one egg called for in this recipe? I use an egg substitute called Neat Egg.
Thanks,
Rose
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hmm, it's hard to say as this recipe hasn't been converted from a recipe containing eggs and I have never tried Neat Egg myself either. You would need to experiment. Ania
Jenna:
Hi Ania, thank you so much for the recipe! It's amazing!
I cook desserts for mantra meditation programs here in Sydney, Australia and am always looking for vegan/vegetarian ideas for desserts. I cooked this one for one of the programs and everyone loved it - so it's not only me or my family who enjoyed but some 60 people at our regular mantra meditation :-))) You can be proud :-)))
Big huge thankyou!
Cheers
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Jenna! I'm delighted to hear that! Ania
Robin:
Is there a way to substitute the sugar for maple syrup or something along those lines?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Robin,
    I would advise against it as it's a liquid sweetener so will affect the cake's wet to dry ingredient's ratio. It will probably still taste all right, but the texture might suffer. Hope that helps! Ania
Christina:
This recipe is incredible, so delicious!! I did it this evening and it tastes like heaven. Thank you so much! I will do it again this weekend, together with your lemon drizzle cake, which is out of this world, too!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Yay, I'm delighted to hear that, Christina! Thank you :) Ania
kristin:
oh my gosh! poor tina. i would be shocked to find another cat in our house, ha! one of our cats would hide but i think the other would be more aggressive. hope you can figure out a solution!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Kristin! I hope so too.
BJ Wahl:
We have made these twice now. Everyone loves them. So gooey and chocolatey. Thanks - these are the best!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks so much! That's lovely to hear! Ania
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