Mulled wine brownies - crispy on the outside, fudgy on the inside and filled with the flavours of festive mulled wine, these vegan brownies are sure to be a hit at Christmas!
I'm not generally a big wine drinker but I make an exception for mulled wine. It is one of my absolute favourite drinks and as soon as the weather turns cold I start craving it. It is just so warming and I can't resist the rich, spicy, just-sweet-enough flavour.
It turns out that the flavours of mulled wine also work exceptionally well in brownies!
The rich red wine and spices pair wonderfully with the chocolate, making these mulled wine brownies an indulgent, and delicious, treat.
They are also completely vegan! (Provided you use a vegan wine). I realised recently that I hadn't yet blogged a vegan brownie recipe.
I didn't just want to make plain brownies however, and seeing as it is coming up to Christmas I thought that this mulled wine version would be perfect!
These vegan brownies are perfectly crisp on the outside, and fudgy on the inside, just as a good brownie should be.
I did test a few different recipes and found that a lot of them were just a little too cake-like and claggy for my liking, but these ones were spot on!
They use flax eggs (just a mixture of ground flaxseed and water - nothing complicated) to help bind the mixture, and can be made with either coconut oil or dairy free block margarine - I used coconut oil.
For the mulled wine flavour, I swapped the usual water for red wine (no need to use anything expensive) and added in some grated orange zest, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.
The spices give these mulled wine brownies a lovely warming flavour, and you can taste the richness of the red wine, but they don't overpower the chocolate, because brownies should be all about the chocolate!
How To Make Vegan Mulled Wine Brownies:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
Start by making a flax egg - mix together ground flaxseed and water and set aside until it goes gloopy.
Whisk together plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt and set aside.
Finely chop some dark chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl along with some coconut oil, cocoa powder, red wine and instant espresso powder (don't worry, it doesn't make the brownies taste like coffee, it just deepens the chocolate flavour).
Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (don't let the base of the bowl touch the water). Stir until the chocolate is melted.
The mixture will probably look a little lumpy and separated, don't worry, this is normal; just make sure that all of the chocolate is melted.
Remove the bowl from the heat and add sugar, orange zest and the flax egg. Whisk with an electric mixer until smooth and glossy.
Tip in the dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula until just combined. The mixture will be very thick but be careful not to over-mix it or the brownies may be tough.
Spoon the batter into a 20cm/8inch square tin lined with baking parchment and use a spatula to spread it level. It won't spread much in the oven so make sure you get it as level as you can.
Bake for 22-25 minutes until a skewer inserted near the edge comes out with moist crumbs on it. The middle should still be a little gooey. Leave to cool in the tin then cut into squares and dig in!
Top Tips:
Don't overbeat the brownie batter as that can make the brownies tough, just mix it until no dry lumps of flour remain.
Don't overbake your brownies! Overbaked brownies are dry and crumbly. They are done when a skewer inserted near the edge comes out with some moist crumbs on it and the centre is still a bit gooey. If the skewer comes out clean then they are overbaked.
You can use water instead of wine if you don't want to use alcohol.
If you use vegan butter/margarine instead of coconut oil make sure that it is the kind that comes in a solid block, NOT the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking. I like Naturli Vegan Block best.
What If I Just Want Plain Vegan Brownies?:
To make these into plain vegan brownies, simply swap the red wine for water and omit the spices and orange zest. You can add in mix-ins such as chocolate chips or nuts as you like when you add the flour.
I also have a recipe for these awesome chewy vegan brownies which are a plain base you can bake as they are or add whatever mix-ins you like to them.
How Long Will These Vegan Mulled Wine Brownies Keep?
I think that these brownies are best eaten within the first couple of days, but they will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. If you like your brownies really fudgy and chewy then store them in the fridge.
More Vegan Christmas Recipes:
- Vegan Christmas cake
- Vegan mince pies
- Vegan steamed chocolate pudding
- Chocolate gingerbread cookies
- Starry mince pie tart
If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
*All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.*
Mulled Wine Brownies (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed (or ground chia seeds)
- 3 tablespoon water
- 225 g (1 + ¾ cups + 1Tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 100 g (3.5oz) dark chocolate chopped
- 50 g (⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp) cocoa powder
- 90 g (¼ cup + 2 Tbsp) coconut oil or dairy free block margarine
- 100 ml (⅓ cup + 1Tbsp + 1tsp) red wine
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
- 230 g (1 cup + 2Tbsp) caster sugar
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease a 20cm/8inch square tin and line with baking parchment.
- Mix together the ground flaxseed and the water in a small bowl, set aside to go gloopy.
- Whisk together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt in a large bowl with a balloon whisk and set aside.
- Place the chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl along with the coconut oil, cocoa powder, red wine and instant espresso powder.
- Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (don't let the base of the bowl touch the water). Stir until the chocolate is melted. The mixture will probably look a little lumpy and separated, don't worry, this is normal; just make sure that all of the chocolate is melted.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and add the sugar, orange zest and the flaxseed mixture. Whisk with an electric mixer until it is smooth and glossy.
- Tip in the dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula until just combined. The mixture will be very thick but be careful not to over-mix it or the brownies may be tough.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and use a spatula to spread it level. It won't spread much in the oven so make sure you get it as level as you can.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until a skewer inserted near the edge comes out with moist crumbs on it. The middle should still be a little gooey.
- Leave to cool in the tin for about an hour then carefully lift the slab out and slice into squares.
Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
- This recipe is adapted from here: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/brownies-and-bars/brownies/ultimate-brownies
Jon
Wow..Those brownies just looking so tempting. Thanks for sharing this amazing stuff with us, well done.
Jen
I made these brownies for a friends Xmas party, they were devoured very quickly and everyone has asked me to make them again. Thanks so much for the recipe xx
Tahmina
These were amazing! The flavour of the spices were beautiful.
I don't know if my oven is stronger but they were slightly over baked even though I ended up baking them a few mins less than recommended. I'll attempt them again and will try them at 160 for 20 mins I think.
H
Hey, these look great. Do you think you could just add straight mulled wine? (Cooled down) or would the flavour not be as strong.
hannahhossack
Hi Helen, yes you could use mulled wine but you are right, the flavour might not be as strong and you may also need to add a little less spice as the mulled wine is already spiced.