11/02/2004

vegan brownies

OK, since Julie & Profgrrrl asked, here's my recipe for vegan brownies. (From Louise Hagler's Tofu Cookery)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together in a saucepan, until there are no lumps:
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
2/3 cup water

Whip in:
1/2 lb tofu, blended until smooth and creamy (HINT: it works best with "silken" style tofu which is already the consistency of yogurt or heavy cream; if not available, get soft or very soft tofu and blend it with a tiny bit of water in blender/food processor)

Stir constantly over low heat until thickened. Cool completely.

To the cooled mixture, add:
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Beat well.

In another bowl mix together:
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup oil

Add to the other ingredients and stir well.

Mix together:
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 scant tsp baking powder

Add this to the mixture above and stir until there are no lumps. Bake in a well-oiled and floured 10" square pan for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cut into 12 brownies.

For cake-like brownies, increase baking powder to 2 teaspoons and bake for 20 minutes.


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This is one of my never-fails-to-impress-the-carnivores recipes.

If you haven't ever baked with tofu, it's worth a try even if you're not vegan. It creates very moist baked goods.