Cakes & Bakes: Vegan, gluten-free brownies

These vegan, gluten-free brownies were one of the sweet treats (the other was vegan, gluten-free shortbread) that I took to my last Women’s Institute meeting.

The original recipe used coconut oil as the shortening ingredient; however, I had some remaining Trex that I’d used for the shortbread. I don’t think it detracted from the taste. In addition, I didn’t have a lemon to add to my soya milk to make the buttermilk; instead, I used lime. If you have neither, a tablespoon of white wine or cider vinegar will suffice.

The resulting brownies were rich, chocolaty, gooey and sweet with that lovely crackle top that brownies should always have. They were so sweet, in fact, that I’d reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe – perhaps down to 300 grams.

I brought the few portions that hadn’t been eaten by the ladies back home. I had one of them the following night, reheated in the microwave and a generous amount of thick cream dolloped on top. It was lovely!

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Vegan, gluten-free brownies

2020-01-22 16:22:23

Serves 16

Total Time

50 min

Total Time

50 min

Ingredients

275g/9¾oz gluten-free plain flour
85g/3oz cocoa powder
400g/14oz granulated sugar
1½tsp baking powder
½tsp salt
1tbsp instant coffee granules
240ml/8½fl oz vegan buttermilk (1 tbsp lemon juice + soya milk up to the 240ml/8½fl oz line
240ml/8½fl oz vegan block margarine (e.g. Trex), melted
1tsp vanilla extract
150g/5¼oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°C/ 350°F/Gas mark 4
Line a 9-inch square baking tin with parchment paper
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and cocoa powder
Add in the sugar, baking powder, salt and coffee powder and mix together
Add the vegan buttermilk, melted margarine and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter
Add the chocolate chunks and stir in
Transfer the batter to your prepared baking dish and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 40 minutes
Allow them to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then lift the tray of brownies out by the parchment paper
Place it onto a wire rack and allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting. If they’re still warm when you slice them, they're more difficult to cut
To cut, heat up a kitchen knife by dipping it in very hot water (from the kettle), dry it off with a towel and slice from one end to the other. After each cut, dip the knife back into the hot water, dry it off again and repeat. This allows you to cut perfect squares and also melts the chocolate along the edges as you cut the squares

Notes

Serve as is, on their own, warm or cold, with vegan cream or vegan ice cream

Adapted from Loving It Vegan

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Vegan gluten-free shortbread

Having specialist dietary requirements has become so much easier to live with in the past couple of years. If you’re vegan or gluten-free, you’re thankfully much more catered for in supermarkets and restaurants.

Since moving to Wales, I joined the local Women’s Institute in the village. The members take it in turns at each meeting to make the tea and provide the cake & biscuits. This week, it’s my turn! In the group, there are a few vegetarians, a vegan and someone with Coeliac disease. I decided I’d make two different things; one biscuit-y and one cake-y. The former would be vegan gluten-free shortbread. The latter, I’ll share on here next week.

Doves Farm produce a huge range of flours, one of which is a gluten-free plain white flour. It’s a blend of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat flours. The lack of gluten means that the mixture can be unworkable and the biscuit too crumbly. To combat this, a minuscule amount of xanthan gum is added to the flour to help bind the dough and subsequent biscuit. In addition, I used Trex as the shortening. The brand doesn’t make it apparent on the packaging, however, it is completely vegan.

I used my favourite antique wooden mould, dusting it with rice flour which is gluten-free.

The recipe worked well; the dough came together and moulded with no trouble. The round released from the mould easily and slicing it into triangular ‘petticoat tails’ was a breeze.

If I were to make these again, I’d up the sugar content, perhaps sprinkling some granulated over the top just before they went into the oven.

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Vegan gluten-free shortbread

2020-01-14 18:11:13

Serves 8

Cook Time

45 min

Cook Time

45 min

Ingredients

200g/7oz gluten-free plain Flour
75g/2⅔oz caster sugar
¼ tsp xanthan gum
pinch of salt
1tbsp water
150g/5¼oz vegan block margarine (e.g. Trex)

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Instructions

Line a 15cmx20cm/6"x8" baking tray with parchment
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark6
Put the flour, sugar, xanthan and salt into a blender and pulse to mix
Add the water and pulse to mix it with the flour
Chop the margarine into cubes, add this to the bowl and pulse until the dough holds together
Tip the mixture into your prepared baking tray/mould, pressing it into the corners and smoothing the top
Cover the dough and leave it to rest for 20 minutes
Cut the dough into rectangles. If you're using a mould, turn the dough out on to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cut into portions
Press the prongs of a fork into each slice
Bake for 20 minutes
Remove the tray from the oven and carefully cut the slices again, following the original lines
Press the fork prongs into the holes again
Return the shortbread to the oven and bake for a further 25 minutes
Allow the shortbread to cool on the baking tray for 20 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to finish cooling
Store cold biscuits in an airtight container

Adapted from Doves Farm

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Peanut butter and jelly brownies

Winter is a time for comfort food and sweet things to keep the energy and spirits up; these peanut butter and jelly brownies are just the ticket!

Chocolate brownies and peanut butter & jelly are American classics; they’ve been combined in this dish to create a gluten-free treat.

This recipe makes 9-12 portions – they’re so dense and sweet, a little goes a long way! Pair it with a cup of coffee or glass of cold milk.

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Home-made peanut butter and jelly brownie | H is for Home

Peanut butter and jelly brownies

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Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 9

Ingredients

200 g/7oz butter
200 g/7oz dark chocolate
200 g/7oz brown soft sugar
3 eggs beaten
30 g/1oz ground almonds
1 tbsp cornflour
20 g/¾oz beetroot powder you can omit this if you don't have any
40 g/1½oz cocoa powder
75 g/2½oz peanut butter smooth or crunchy
50 g/1¾oz fruit jelly raspberry or mixed berry are lovely

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375ºF/Gas mark 5
Line a 23cm/9" square baking tin with parchment paper
In a large, heat-proof mixing bowl, melt the butter and chocolate over a pan of just simmering water, stirring until melted and combined. Don't allow the bottom of the bowl to come into contact with the hot water
Remove from the heat and gently stir in the sugar until dissolved
Slowly add the whisked eggs to the butter & chocolate mixture, stirring all the while
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds, cornflour, beetroot powder and cocoa
Add to the chocolate mixture, folding together until evenly combined and smooth
Pour the mixture into the to the lined baking tin using the back of a spoon to even it out and get it into the corners
Separately, in a couple of heat/microwave-proof ramekins, gently warm the peanut butter and jelly (either for a few seconds in the microwave or in a small bowl set over a bowl of hot water). Add a few drops of vegetable oil to the peanut butter or water to the jelly if the consistency is too thick to pour
Use a skewer to swirl the peanut butter and jelly through the chocolate mixture
Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the brownies have begun to form a crust around the edges. The middle should still be squidgy
Allow to cool completely, still in its tin, on a wire rack before lifting out and slicing into squares

Peanut butter and-jelly brownie ingredients

Keyword brownies, jelly, peanut butter, peanuts

Cakes & Bakes: Chocolate oblivion truffle torte

Rose Levy Beranbaum named this recipe Chocolate oblivion truffle torte. It’s a mere 3 ingredients; chocolate, butter and eggs. And it cooks in 15 minutes.

In this Food52 article, she guides the reader through the reasons why she chooses to use particular ingredients and methods to make this torte. Eggs and butter at room temperature, a particular percentage of cocoa solids in the chocolate, whipping the eggs over heat, the water bath to cook…

To make an easy cake recipe even easier, I not only lined the bottom of the tin but also the sides. This meant that I didn’t have to faff around with heating the tin to get the torte out and on to the serving plate.

It was delicious – and a little goes a long way. I halved the recipe and it still made 8 portions.

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Chocolate oblivion truffle torte

2019-08-07 10:22:03

Cook Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Ingredients

454g / 16oz dark chocolate (fine quality, but no higher than 62%)
227g 8oz unsalted butter, room temperature
6 large eggs, room temperature

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425°F/Gas mark 7
In a large, heat-proof bowl set over a pan of hot, not simmering water (don't allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water) place the chocolate and butter and allow it to stand, stirring occasionally, until smooth and melted. (You can also use a microwave on higher power, stirring every 20 seconds)
In a large mixing bowl, set over a pan of simmering water, heat the eggs, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, until just warm to the touch. Immediately remove the bowl to the stand mixer and, with the whisk attachment on high speed, beat about 5 minutes until triple in volume and the eggs are billowy and lighter in colour. (If using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the eggs over simmering water until they're hot. Remove them from the heat and beat for about 5 minutes or until cold)
Using a rubber spatula, fold half the eggs into the chocolate mixture until almost evenly incorporated
Fold in the remaining eggs, scraping up the mixture from the bottom to ensure that all the heavier chocolate mixture gets incorporated and almost no streaks remain
Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and set it in the larger tin. Place it in the oven and surround it with 1 inch of hot water
Bake for 5 minutes. Cover it loosely with a sheet of buttered foil and bake another 10 minutes. (It will wobble when moved)
Remove the cake tin from the water bath and allow it to cool for about 45 minutes
Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate until it's very firm - at least 3 hours
Un-mould the cake: Have ready a serving plate that has at least an 8-inch flat centre portion and an 8-inch or large flat loose bottom of a tart tin or plate, covered with greased cling film
Use a torch, hair drier or a hot damp towel to wipe the sides of the tin
Run a thin metal spatula around the sides of the torte and release the sides of the spring-form pan Place the plastic-wrapped plate on top and invert the torte onto it
Heat the bottom of the pan and remove it
Peel off the parchment and flip the torte onto the serving plate
Cut the torte using a thin-bladed knife dipped into hot water between each slice

Notes

It's most moussey and delicious served at room temperature. Accompany with raspberry sauce and fresh raspberries and whipped cream if desired

By Rose Levy Beranbaum

Adapted from The Cake Bible

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/