Thursday 1 March 2012

Eggless (Vegan) Brownies - a step too far!

I really wanted to like these brownies! I saw them on Cake, Crumbs and Cooking last month, and C is someone who's taste and opinions I really respect; if she says something is good, then I expect it to be so. She found the recipe here, on the vegan blog, Maple Spice, and made one alteration - to use light olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I went back to sunflower oil and used a slightly bigger tin than C - an 8" (20cm) square tin.

I followed the recipe precisely, and took the brownies out of the oven after 25 minutes - they were still quite wet at the suggested 20 minutes. Although they did have the lovely papery, flaky top so desirable on a good brownie, this was the only positive point, in my opinion!

I  guess it's all down to personal taste - I found them dry and heavy (almost biscuity) and too sweet. I used a good quality chocolate but still didn't think the taste came through in the recipe - the over-riding taste was sugar, and an aftertaste of soy, which I didn't like at all. They were also far too shallow, which might be why they seemed dry, although I'm sure I didn't overcook them; C used a 7" tin and Debbie at Maple Spice actually used a 6" tin

If I were a vegan, and hadn't found a better recipe, I'd be tempted to add a little raising agent to the recipe. As it was, I couldn't help thinking that an egg or two would probably improve things considerably! Removing eggs from this sort of bake just seems a step too far, if it isn't necessary for ethical or dietary reasons.

Not one to be repeated, I'm afraid, especially as I already have a couple of better recipes with low saturated fat levels.

Note - 24 hours after first tasting! In fairness to the recipe, I have to add that the brownies seem to have 'relaxed' or mellowed somehow, and aren't quite so dry and heavy now. A much more pleasant texture, but I'm still not keen on the flavour, although Hubs and CT liked them more than I did.
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5 comments:

  1. Caroline1 March 2012 at 19:11

    I'm really sorry you didn't like them, I don't make and eat brownies all that often, so perhaps my judgement wasn't accurate. But as you say, tastes differ and I guess we can't have similar tastes in everything.

    Sorry that you wasted ingredients but thank you for trying them.

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  2. Suelle1 March 2012 at 20:01

    Nothing to apologise for, C! CT and Hubs liked them more than I did, so they won't be wasted!

    And, strangely, they've mellowed a bit over the last 24hrs and don't seem quite so dry now.

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  3. celia3 March 2012 at 22:19

    It's good to have a vegan recipe up your sleeve...

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  4. Suelle4 March 2012 at 06:47

    That's true, Celia - there's always something positive to be gained from a recipe!

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  5. azélia20 March 2012 at 10:42

    hi Sue I've bookedmarked this, can re-work it but it appeals for allergy kid with no eggs and not having to use something like tofu or nut pastes replacements as I've seen in egg-free baking.

    Here's something I've discovered playing around with different brownie recipes last year and that is I don't like recipe that have cocoa powder added to the brownie as it makes them a tad dry on texture front but it could also be I haven't found a recipe containing both that I like.

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