Ooey Gooey Double Chocolate Brownies
When I went to Emily Carr, my friends and I used to do potlucks. A couple of them were vegan so I worked on a vegan brownie as my contribution. I'd pair them with strawberries or raspberries, and either plant based ice cream or coco-whip. I recommend soaking the strawberries in Almond Liqueur.
Make sure you use a high quality Vanilla. A lot of the ones available in the supermarket are low quality. Make sure you're using an extract and not a flavour. It should be kind of pricey, because good vanilla is just like good wine. The subtle hues of vanilla should come out in the baking. If you can't taste it, it's low quality.
Surprise! Almond Flour and Almond Meal are not the same thing. Almond Meal is using raw ground almonds, while Almond Flour uses blanched, skinless Almonds for a finer texture. Almond flour will also be less Almond-y, because of the processing.
The difference between Baking Soda and Baking Powder is that Soda is 100% Sodium Bicarbonate, and Baking
Powder has a dry acid to assist with leavening. So in recipes that call for Baking Soda, you'll need some type of acid to activate the SB if you're looking for fluffy baked goods.
The type of cocoa you use will also affect the colour, and the flavour. I encourage you to go and get a few different types of cocoa. Cacao is fruitier as it is not roasted. Think of it like a blond coffee roast. As it's roasted it becomes more nutty and chocolatey.
Raw Cacao powder, or Natural Cocoa has not been roasted and has natural acidity, remember the fruitier flavour? So if you start playing around with Dutch Process, or any other type of roasted Cocoa you may want to switch the Soda in the recipe for x2 the amount of Baking Powder. More info on Cocoa Powder here.
Flax eggs mature. The longer you leave them the more they thicken up and absorb moisture in your recipe. Mix your flax egg first, and let it sit with the wet ingredients while you pull everything you want from the cupboards and pre-heat the oven.
The texture of the bro
wnies can be anywhere from dry as pictured, to a bit more wet. The wetness of your batter will depend on the moisture in the air (are you at sea level?) and you may vary your cooking time depending on how much the baking needs to dry out. The toothpick test will result in more solid, drier consistency. You may use a thermometer to aim somewhere around 200-205 *F. As soon as it looks set, pull it out for gooeier consistency. If you like it stiffer, leave it in a little longer.
wnies can be anywhere from dry as pictured, to a bit more wet. The wetness of your batter will depend on the moisture in the air (are you at sea level?) and you may vary your cooking time depending on how much the baking needs to dry out. The toothpick test will result in more solid, drier consistency. You may use a thermometer to aim somewhere around 200-205 *F. As soon as it looks set, pull it out for gooeier consistency. If you like it stiffer, leave it in a little longer.[[ recipeID=recipe-8lbprvo60, title=Ooey Gooey Brownies ]]
