Babycakes Vegan Brownies

So I’ve blogged about the bakery Babycakes NYC a few times like here and here. I love the bakery and was thrilled when came out.  I don’t need vegan or gluten-free treats but I like the idea of experimenting with alternative forms of baking.  I recently bought a mini-muffin tin in order to bake mini cupcakes for a work party and  of course have been looking for opportunities to use it again.

Finding the ingredients wasn’t difficult.  My local health food store had everything. But alas I like to buy things in bulk so I headed to my beloved Bulk Barn to secure the various types of flours. I like buying in bulk because it makes these types of recipes more accessible.  A lot of these ingredients can cost about $8 per bag but if I buy in bulk I can buy just what I need for maybe $2.

I was pretty strict about following this recipe because I figured the slightest deviations could really screw things up.  The bulk store didn’t have the garbanzo/fava flour but they did have garbanzo flour and romano bean flour.  So I bought a bit of each and mixed them together!  This was before I remembered that I could have subbed in rice flour in the recipe.  I also used brewed coffee instead of water in the recipe.

The verdict: not bad!

Were these the best brownies ever? No, I really think a brownie benefits from butter like this recipe from the always buttery Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa.  They were definitely as good as your average good brownie though!  They were pretty reminiscent of those two-bite brownies everyone makes just less gooey.  Would I make them again? If I had the ingredients to use up, sure.  They are definitely a good substitute for traditional brownies if you’re avoiding gluten, dairy etc.

Babycakes Brownies

Ingredients

Makes about 5 dozen mini brownies.

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for pans
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons garbanzo and fava bean flour
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot
• 1 cup unrefined sugar or 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee or hot water
• 2 cups vegan gluten-free chocolate chips, such as Tropical Source

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush 3 dozen mini-muffin pans with oil; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder; set aside. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in coffee until it forms a batter. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Place 1 tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup. Transfer muffin pans to oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before unmolding.

(Recipe from by Erin McKenna)