December 7, 2015
(last updated January 27, 2020) 
True story: the first vegan brownies I ever made were the double-chocolate brownies in Food52 Vegan. I’d made raw brownies and raw brownie bites aplenty, but no traditional brownies. Given my robust love of chocolate, this is a little crazy. Now that I’ve dived into the vegan brownie waters, I’m hooked. These dark chocolate espresso brownies are not only vegan, but gluten free as well, and they’re my new favorite. After all, they combine two of my favorite pleasures: chocolate and coffee!
Today’s recipe was inspired by my friend Kimberly, who writes the lovely blog The Little Plantation. A few weeks ago, Kimberly reached out to say that she was trying to put together a little blog party in order to call attention to Malawian coffee. Kimberly had recently watched a program highlighting the dire poverty affecting many people in Malawi. She had the idea to celebrate one of Malawi’s exports, coffee.
Malawian coffee is generally known to be excellent, and it’s usually fair trade, which is great. But because it doesn’t have as much fame as Kenyan coffee, and because Malawian coffee producers don’t have as many marketing resources as growers in places like Brazil or Colombia, coffee traders often have a hard time selling Malawian coffee to roasters. Kimberly’s thought was for a bunch of bloggers to create recipes using coffee–Malawian coffee, that is–as a means of celebrating the coffees of this part of the world. As soon as Kimberly asked me to participate, I knew I’d be making something with both coffee and chocolate. These vegan, gluten free espresso brownies fit the bill.
The most accessible source of Malawian single-origin coffee I found here in the US was from Tom’s. The coffee is fair trade, and it’s lovely: a little light and fruity, but plenty bold. I ground it very finely and brewed it strong in this recipe, so that it would be espresso-strength. But you could use any strongly brewed coffee, or you could use 1/4 cup (about 2 ounces, or 2 shots) of espresso. The coffee gets folded right into the brownie batter, infusing it with a wonder mocha flavor and aroma.
The resulting brownies, which are also packed with dark chocolate chunks, are so wonderful. In the great cakey vs. fudgy vs. chewy debate, I’d say these are in the chewy camp. The key to getting perfect texture is to not overcook them–I’d suggest taking them out of the oven when a toothpick inserted has a few crumbs on it, rather than being totally clean. This assures that, as they cool, they stay dense and moist.
I use a combination of sorghum and oat flour in this recipe, but you could use an equal amount of spelt, whole wheat pastry, or all purpose flour in their place. For the dark chocolate chunks, you can chop up a bar of your favorite fair trade chocolate (I love Endangered Species chocolate), or you can use packaged dark chocolate chunks or chips instead, if you’d rather not bother with chopping.
Vegan, Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Espresso Brownies
Author -Yields: 9
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1 1/4 cup coconut sugar or organic cane sugar use 1 cup to make these less sweet
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup almond soy, or rice milk
- 1/4 cup brewed espresso 2 ounces, or 2 shots or very strongly brewed coffee
- 1/3 cup safflower grapeseed, canola, or melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chunks or chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and lightly oil and flour an 8-inch square baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seeds and warm water. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk, espresso/coffee, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and the flaxseed mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until they're combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks or chips, reserving a few to sprinkle on top of the brownies.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the brownie center emerges with just a couple crumbs. Start checking the brownies at the 22 minute mark, just to be safe: if they're burning at the edges or getting very firm in the middle, use a toothpick to check. You want to avoid overcooking for a perfectly moist, chewy texture!
- Transfer the baking dish to a wire cooling rack and allow the brownies to cool for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
Note: In place of the sorghum/oat flour combination, you can use 1 1/2 cups all purpose, whole wheat pastry, or spelt flour.
Storage: Wrap leftover brownies tightly in saran wrap or place them in an airtight container. Store them in a cool, dry place for up to four days.
The best part about this blog party, for me, isn’t the coffee or the chocolate. It’s the fact that Kimberly asked so many cool and talented bloggers from around the world to participate, and I’ve had the most wonderful time exploring their recipes. I love that both sweet and savory recipes are included!
Aimee | Twigg Studios | Winter Spices Coffee Cake
Bettina | Bettina’s Kitchen | Coffee Crunch Chocolate Mousse
Kimberly | The Little Plantation | Vegan Malawi Coffee Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Swirl
Maria | Marrbell | Christmas Coffee and Vanilla Eggnog
Jenny | Jenny Mustard | Tofu Skewers with Chocolate Coffee Sauce
Carole | Mademoiselle Poirot | Coffee and Hazelnut Buns with Orange Icing
Dorota | Plants on Your Plate | Cream of Celeriac with Coffee Drizzle
Valeria | Life Love Food | Zabaione al Caffé
Sophie | The Green Life | Coffee blondies with homemade nutella (vegan, gf)
Joscelyn | Wife Mama Foodie | Salted Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
Ksenia | At The Immigrant’s Table | Gluten-free Jewish doughnuts with cardamom coffee cream
If you’d like to read more about the challenges facing coffee farmers in Malawi, which include climate change, pests, and disease, you can do so here. And if you feel inspired to try Malawian fair trade coffee, you can find it through Tom’s and also through Utica Coffee Roasters.
No matter what coffee you use to prepare this recipe, I hope you’ll savor its rich, deep flavor and wonderful texture. I already plan on making the recipe again to give as a gift this month–in spite of the fact that baking brownies in the small apartment I share with my chocolate-allergic boyfriend (who can’t bear the smell, as it reminds him of being sick from eating chocolate as a kid) is a little tricky. (Thanks, Steven, for letting me test the recipe this past weekend!)
I wish you all a wonderful day. And you have time, don’t miss the other blog entries in this party–they’re all so creative.
xo
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Categories: Recipes,
Bars & Brownies
Method: Oven
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan
Method: Oven
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan
Leave a Comment
Hello!
Thanks for the recipe! ๐ It looks perfect! I really want to try it, but Im from Hungary, and i have some problems with the “cup” metric… could you write the ingredients in gramm? It would be a big help for me!
Other: Can I use a normal egg instead of flax seed+water?
Thanks!
Franciska
Tried your recipe and I absolutely LOVED it! Thank you <3
This is a magic recipe with inspiring photographs –
I did it / with minor modifications / – good taste, texture and fine flavor.
Thank you, greetings and recommend …
Delighted that it turned out so well, Diana!
Made these last week and they disappeared FAST! No crumb left behind. ๐ Thanks for another great recipe, Gena!
Oh, that’s awesome to hear. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed them!
Hi Gena – I made these with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1. The taste was nice, but the texture was gluey. Do you think it was because there is Xanthan gum in the Bob’s? I will try it again with plain sorghum to see if I like it better. Can I use all oat flour instead?
Hey Kare!
I think it could work nicely, though I’m slightly hesitant to say yes without the caveat that gluten free, vegan baking is tricky and you can never be 100% sure until you try it. Lately I find that the more I mix flours and use mixes rather than an all purpose, the better my results are — but I know that this is more of a hassle and more expensive. If you do try it and it works, let me know, please!
G
Hi! I am on a fodmap diet (don’t ask!) and cannot have applesauce. It’s just 1/3 of a cup, so can I skip it? Or what do you think I can put in it’s place? Thank you!
I made these the other day and everyone at my work told me I have to bring them every week now. They are so rich, so dense, and the most amazing vegan brownies I’ve had to date. I am so happy to have found a good brownie recipe FINALLY. I used whole wheat flour, and they turned out perfectly. thanks for the perfect recipe Gena!
Oh, this makes me so happy to hear. Glad you love them, Meghan!
Didn’t you forget what to do with the flaxseed? I don’t use it now but it works also..
At all not my taste of brownies ;(
Hey Jonas,
You add them to the wet ingredients — so sorry to omit that, but the recipe has been edited!
Gena
I don’t have sorghum flour. What could I sub with? Thanks!
Oat flour ought to work well!
I prefer my brownie more mushy and bake for less time.
Hi Avi! You can definitely do 20 minutes in the oven for a mushier brownie.
Maybe it is my computer, but there are only boxes in the measurement of the oil and applesauce. Can you tell me the correct measurements please?
Hey Janet!
Argh, so sorry — it looks normal on my screen and my colleague’s screen, but clearly something’s fishy, because you’re the second person to report this. I just tried manually re-entering all of the measurements, but in case you still don’t see them, here’s the ingredient list:
3 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 1/4 cup coconut sugar or organic cane sugar (use 1 cup to make these less sweet)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup almond, soy, or rice milk
1/4 cup brewed espresso (2 ounces, or 2 shots) or very strongly brewed coffee
1/3 cup safflower, grapeseed, canola, or melted coconut oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chunks or chips
Sorry for any confusion!
G
This is such a great idea! I’ve never even considered Malawian coffee before, thanks for the inspiration ๐ one would think there’s just Brazilian and Colombian and miss all of the other amazing options. By the way I can’t believe there was no baked brownie recipe on your blog, I never even noticed ๐ way to fix it though, chocolate and coffee are the best combination ever.
Love brownies and these sound so delicious! I bet the sorghum/oat flour combo and the fact that they have coffee only adds to that yumminess! Coffee and chocolate work so well together…will have to give these a try soon!
I love that you used oat flour in these! They are absolutely gorgeous and I’m sure just as delicious. I’ve never been a huge fan of espresso desserts, but you can’t go wrong with the coffee/chocolate combo!
Lovely combo and beautiful clicks. Fudge looks so delicious. Craving for it right now ๐
These brownies sound delicious Gena!! The espresso + chocolate combo is just SO good. <3
These brownies were made for me. I expect they’ll make an appearance this weekend! I’m thrilled to have made your acquaintance through this blog party – your blog is a work of art.
O my, these are just perfect and stunning!!! In love with the espresso and recently sorghum has become one of my favorite flours!
Oh Gena, these picture awaken an urge in me to pop round and eat this with you over a little chat all about awesome plant-based food. And chocolate ๐
Thank you for being a part of this. I am delighted you said yes.
Much love from across the pond
Kimberly
Can you please advise how much oil & applesauce? The recipe above is showing “square” symbols – not a quantity. Thanks for a great recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
I’m sorry about that Georgina! It’s showing up normally on my computer. It’s 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup applesauce.
I am loving sorghum flour lately, so I will definitely be trying these out! ๐
This cake looks just perfect! I love the combo of chocolate and coffee. It’s just so good. Do you think you can make the cake as muffins too?
Hey Heidi!
You could definitely try, though I’d recommend a traditional 8 x 8 pan because the center will retain that super moist, chewy brownie texture — the brownies might dry out if you bake them in muffin tins. If you do, I’d suggest a short bake time and check them often!
Gena