Tofu for Two

I had never tasted a brownie in my life before baking these, so I’m not completely qualified to assess how brownie-like they were. Well, I did adapt the recipe from an American blog Don’t Eat Off the Sidewalk and I’m sure that Katie knows what a brownie is. These were like moist and delicate pieces of chocolate cake, melt-in-your-mouth -kind of delicious just like the original recipe promised, and very addictive. I did bake two batches in two days.

Katie wrote that her brownies were too crumbly and didn’t keep together well, but I lined my baking dish with parchment paper, and didn’t have any falling apart issues – maybe due to the adjustments I made.

I read an article in the NY Times claiming that real brownies shouldn’t use baking powder or baking soda. On the other hand, according to the writer of that article, real brownies should use a liberal amount of eggs and butter, and almost every vegan brownie recipe I’ve seen uses a leavening of some kind.

Mint Chocolate Brownies (makes 10):

My little godson was enchanted by the mint chocolate brownies and gobbled one up in no time. Still, they weren’t very sweet – more like an adult treat for those who love dark chocolate. I used organic muscovado sugar for extra flavor, but I guess any brown sugar would equally enhance the chocolate aroma.

• 70 g vegan chocolate (semi dark)
• 60 g margarine
• 1,2 dl wheat flour
• 2/3 dl dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 dl plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 dl muscovado sugar
• 1/2 dl crushed mint candies
• 3 tablespoons oat milk
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

First, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, and melted the chocolate and the margarine in a water bath. Once melted, I let them cool down while preparing the other ingredients.

I mixed the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Then I placed the soy yogurt, the oat milk, vanilla extract, muscovado sugar, and crushed mint candies in another bowl, and whisked them for about 3 minutes. I wanted the candies and the sugar to melt a little, so at this point I took the time to prepare my baking dish.

I covered my glass baking dish (23 cm X 15 cm) with parchment paper, greased the paper with a little margarine, and floured it to make sure the brownies wouldn’t stick, since the original recipe stated that these stick very much. Now, I whisked the cooled down chocolate-margarine -mixture in the other wet ingredients, and then added the dry ingredients. I stirred with a wooden fork to combine, and poured the batter to the baking pan, spreading it evenly.

I baked the brownies in 175 degrees Celsius, on the lower rack of the oven for about 33 minutes, when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out clean. Then, I cooled them thoroughly before eating.

Spicy Brownies (makes 15):

The spicy brownies were a tad sweeter than the minty ones since I used more sugar instead of crushed candies, and vanilla sugar instead of the extract. I have a feeling that the hot bursts caused by chili flakes require a little more sweetness for a nice balance.

• 70 g vegan chocolate (semi dark)
• 60 g margarine
• 1,2 dl wheat flour
• 2/3 dl dark cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 and 1/2 dl plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 and 1/2 dl muscovado sugar
• 3 tablespoons oat milk
• 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar

I made the batter exactly as above, only adding the spices to the flour-cocoa mixture and substituting vanilla sugar for extract since I didn’t have that any more. Because I think that brownies are often thinner than the first batch, I baked the second batch in a larger baking pan (33 cm X 21 cm). Subsequently, I baked them for 16 minutes only, until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean.

We had very recently bought the chili flakes I used for this, and I think they added just the perfect amount of heat without being overpowering. I might up the amount a little bit if my chili flakes were older.