USAThe two most common mistakes with vegan brownies: overmixing after the flour goes in, and cutting them too soon. Once the flour is added, the spatula should move through the batter maybe eight to ten times — that's it. Every additional fold risks developing gluten and making the brownies tough. And the cooling time is real: the centre of these brownies is still setting as they cool. At 30 minutes out of the oven they'll look underdone. At 45 minutes they're right. At 60 minutes they're perfect. Put them in the fridge for an hour if you want clean slices.
A teaspoon of instant espresso powder or a tablespoon of strong brewed coffee added with the vanilla will not make the brownies taste like coffee — it deepens and intensifies the chocolate flavour. This is a standard trick in non-vegan brownie baking too. Dutch-process cocoa (alkalized, darker in colour) produces a noticeably richer chocolate flavour than natural cocoa in this recipe and is worth buying if you don't already have it.
Vegan Brownies
By Sergei Martynov
Fudgy, deeply chocolatey brownies made without eggs or dairy — with a thin, glossy, crackled top and a dense, squidgy centre. The technique that makes the difference: dissolving the sugar in the warm chocolate mixture before combining with the dry ingredients. This is what creates the shiny surface. The flax egg binds without adding lift, keeping the texture dense rather than cakey. These are not a compromise version of brownies. They are just brownies.
What you'll need
Ingredients
- 170 g
See recipes with dark chocolatedark chocolate (70%+), roughly chopped
i - 115 g
See recipes with vegan butter or neutral oilvegan butter or neutral oil (coconut, sunflower)
i - 200 g
See recipes with caster sugarcaster sugar
i - 60 gSee recipes with light brown sugar — adds moisture and chew
light brown sugar — adds moisture and chew
i - 2 tbsp
See recipes with ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water — make this firstground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water — make this first, rest 10 min to gel (flax egg)
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with vanilla extractvanilla extract
i - 40 g
See recipes with dutch-process cocoa powderDutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
i - 100 g
See recipes with plain flour — measure by spooning into the cupplain flour — measure by spooning into the cup, not scooping
i - 0.5 tsp
See recipes with fine saltfine salt
i - 100 gSee recipes with dark chocolate chips — for folding in and scattering on top
dark chocolate chips — for folding in and scattering on top
i
How to make it
Instructions
- 1
Make the flax egg first. Mix 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Stir and set aside for at least 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken into a gel — this is what binds the brownies. While it sits, line a 20 × 20 cm (8 × 8 inch) metal baking tin with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides for easy removal. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F.
- 2
Melt chocolate and butter together. Place the chopped dark chocolate and vegan butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and glossy. Remove from heat. Add both sugars to the hot chocolate mixture and whisk vigorously for 60 to 90 seconds until the sugar begins to dissolve — the mixture will look thick and shiny. This step is what produces the crackled top. Don't skip it and don't rush it.
- 3
Add wet ingredients. Let the chocolate mixture cool for 3 to 4 minutes so it's warm but not hot — you don't want to cook the flax egg when you add it. Stir in the vanilla extract and the thickened flax egg. Whisk until fully combined and the batter looks cohesive.
- 4
Fold in dry ingredients. Sift the cocoa powder over the batter and fold in with a rubber spatula. Add the flour and salt, and fold again — gently, just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix. The less you stir at this stage the better. Fold in half of the chocolate chips. The batter will be thick.
- 5
Bake and cool properly. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Scatter the remaining chocolate chips over the surface. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes. The edges should be set and slightly pulling away from the tin; the centre should still look slightly underdone and glossy when you gently shake the pan. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out with moist crumbs — not clean, not wet batter. Let the brownies cool completely in the tin, at least 45 minutes. Cutting into warm brownies produces ragged, fudgy edges rather than clean slices — patience here makes a real difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What replaces eggs in vegan brownies — flax egg, aquafaba, or something else?
Both flax egg and aquafaba work well but produce slightly different results. A flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water, rested 10 minutes until gelled) is the most reliable and straightforward — it binds the batter and adds a faint nutty note without affecting the chocolate flavour much. Aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas), whisked vigorously with sugar, helps produce the shiny, crackled top that's otherwise difficult to achieve without eggs. Applesauce (about ¼ cup per egg) is the simplest substitute but produces a more cake-like texture. For dense, fudgy brownies, flax egg or aquafaba are the better choices; for a lighter, more tender crumb, applesauce works.
Why did my vegan brownies turn out dry and crumbly instead of fudgy?
Three common causes. First, too much flour: without eggs to provide structure, the ratio of flour to fat and sugar needs to be lower than it might seem. Always measure flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and levelling off — scooping directly from the bag packs in 20 to 30% more flour. Second, overmixing: once the flour is added, stir only until no dry streaks remain — every extra fold develops gluten and risks a tough, dry texture. Third, overbaking: vegan brownies don't behave like conventional ones. The centre should still look slightly glossy and underdone when you take the pan out of the oven — it finishes setting as it cools. A clean toothpick means they're already overcooked.
How do you get a shiny crackled top on vegan brownies without eggs?
The shiny, crackled surface on brownies comes from dissolved sugar migrating to the top during baking, and you can achieve it without eggs using two methods. Method one: heat the sugar with a small amount of liquid (the hot chocolate and butter mixture in the pan) and whisk vigorously for 60 to 90 seconds until the sugar starts to dissolve before adding any other ingredients. Method two: whisk aquafaba with sugar using a hand mixer for 2 to 3 minutes until thick, glossy, and ribbon-like, then fold in the remaining ingredients. Both work because dissolved (not crystalline) sugar moves to the surface during baking and sets into that thin, papery layer. Use a metal baking tin rather than glass or silicone — metal conducts heat better and helps the top crust form.
Is cocoa powder or real dark chocolate better for vegan brownies?
Both together produce the best results. Cocoa powder — especially Dutch-process (alkalized) cocoa, which is darker and less acidic — delivers intense, concentrated chocolate flavour and a dark colour. Real dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa) contributes fat and emulsifiers that make the texture silky and fudgy rather than powdery. A combination of both is the classic approach: around 40 g of cocoa powder plus 150 to 170 g of melted dark chocolate. If using only cocoa without any melted chocolate, compensate for the missing fat by adding an extra 2 tablespoons of oil or vegan butter. The quality of the chocolate matters significantly here — a good 70 to 75% dark chocolate produces a noticeably better result than a cheap compound chocolate.
Can vegan brownies be made gluten-free and how does it affect the texture?
Yes, and the texture often improves slightly. Replace plain flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend (rice flour-based with xanthan gum). The fudginess of brownies depends primarily on the ratio of fat, sugar, and chocolate to flour — not on gluten. Without gluten development, there is less risk of a tough or rubbery result. Adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornflour (cornstarch) or tapioca starch to the gluten-free flour blend enhances chew further. The batter may look thinner than expected — do not add extra flour to compensate, as this will dry the brownies out. Allow the baked brownies to cool fully, or refrigerate for an hour, before cutting: gluten-free brownies need time to set their structure.
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Comments (1)
I tested this recipe against my regular butter-and-egg brownie recipe in a blind tasting with twelve people. Nobody could tell which was vegan — and three people actually preferred this one. The secret is using both melted dark chocolate AND cocoa powder together, not just one. The melted chocolate gives you that fudgy density, while the cocoa adds depth of flavour. One tip: let the flax eggs sit a full 15 minutes, not just 5. They thicken substantially between minute 5 and minute 15, and that extra body is what holds everything together without eggs.