Black Forest Brownies (vegan)
Black forest brownies - these vegan cherry brownies are flavoured with cherry rum or kirsch and packed full of juicy fresh fruit.
Servings 9 brownies
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 ¼ cups) caster or granulated sugar
- 80 g (⅓ cup) vegan Greek style soya yogurt
- 45 g (3 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 60 g (¼ cup) cherry flavoured rum, kirsch, cherry brandy or cherry juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 75 g (⅓ cup) vegan block butter
- 150 g (5 ½ oz) dark chocolate finely chopped
- 60 g (½ cup) cocoa powder (dutch processed)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 160 g (1 ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 200 g (7 oz) pitted cherries fresh or frozen*
- 100 g (⅔ cup) dark or milk chocolate, roughly chopped (or chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Line a 20 cm/8 inch square cake pan with baking parchment, making sure that it overhangs either side so that it is easy to lift the baked brownies out of the pan. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160℃ fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Place the sugar, non-dairy yogurt, milk and alcohol of your choosing in a pan over a low heat and stir regularly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot and glossy looking but not quite at boiling point.250 g (1 ¼ cups) caster or granulated sugar, 80 g (⅓ cup) vegan Greek style soya yogurt, 45 g (3 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 60 g (¼ cup) cherry flavoured rum, kirsch, cherry brandy or cherry juice
- Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract, chopped chocolate and butter. Stir until everything is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 75 g (⅓ cup) vegan block butter, 150 g (5 ½ oz) dark chocolate
- Whisk in the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and plain flour.60 g (½ cup) cocoa powder (dutch processed), ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 160 g (1 ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Gently fold in the cherries and most of the chocolate or chocolate chips, reserving some to scatter over the top. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin, spread it level and scatter over the reserved chocolate.200 g (7 oz) pitted cherries, 100 g (⅔ cup) dark or milk chocolate, roughly chopped (or chocolate chips)
- Bake for 35-45 minutes until a skewer comes out gunky with moist crumbs but no wet batter (avoid any cherries or chocolate chips).
- Leave the brownie slab to cool completely in the pan (I like to put it in the fridge overnight once it has cooled so that the brownies are easy to slice neatly), then carefully lift it out using the overhanging parchment and use a sharp knife to cut it into squares.
Notes
- *If using frozen cherries do not defrost them first, add them to the batter straight from the freezer.
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!