I know bad brownies.

I mean… I really know bad brownies. The cakey, dry kind you buy cheap in the supermarket? I’ve been there. The kind that just never set up, leaving you with a pan of sickly chocolate gunk which you’ve kind of got to eat, and yes, I am the girl who has eaten a whole pan of uncooked brownie goo in the past? It’s not as fun as you think it’s gonna be. The gummy, vegan-and-gluten-and-sugar-free-why-did-I-even-try ones, which hold a fingerprint when prodded? I don’t know why I did that. Sorry.

But the thing is, I also know good brownies. The fudgy, intensely chocolate kind; the ones that hold together properly without even thinking about being cake; the ones with a whisper-thin, crackly surface on top, and a damp, dense layer underneath.

Okay, this description is getting a little sexy. When I said I knew good brownies, I didn’t mean in the biblical sense.

The thing is, those sexy brownies? I’d never been able to recreate them without eggs and dairy. And how good can a brownie REALLY be if it’s contributing to an industry that makes me all sad-faced? There are tons of vegan brownie recipes using tofu out there, yes, but they’ve never quite hit the spot, and they’ve certainly never given me that crackly surface I love so much. Not to mention the fact that soy is a common intolerance, and – okay, I can’t really get all holier-than-thou over this, cause I don’t have a problem with it and love to use it in baking, which I recognise is totally obnoxious of me as food blogger, but whatever – BUT SOY IS A COMMON INTOLERANCE! Think of the soy intolerant vegans out there! Think of the children!

Right, so don’t freak out. But these brownies have avocado in them. No, I said don’t freak out. You can’t taste it, not even a tiny bit. And you know what? These are good brownies. These are – I would go so far as to say – the best brownies I’ve ever eaten, right up there with the award-winning ones from the Baked cookbook, but with the added bonus of being totally vegan and therefore putting out nothing but joy into the world. I made these, and then I ran around my flat for fifteen minutes shouting about how awesome and talented and wonderful I am. You might want to get in on the action.

Ingredients:

• 120g / 1/2 + 1/3 c. plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 150g / 5.5 oz vegan dark chocolate
• 115g / 1 stick vegan margarine
• 130g / 3/4 c. white sugar
• 50g / 1/4 c. soft light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 180g / 3/4 c. (when pureed)/ 2 avocadoes, peeled and pitted

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Grease and line a 8×8 inch (20x20cm) square baking tin.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cocoa powder.
3. In a saucepan, melt the chocolate and margarine over a low heat, stirring with a spatula to prevent burning or sticking. Once melted, remove from the heat and add the vanilla and both sugars, mixing in well so there are no lumps.
4. Puree the avocado flesh in a food processor – or, if you don’t have one, mash thoroughly with a fork, but make sure it’s absolutely lump free, because avocado lumps in your brownies would kind of suck. When it’s completely smooth, add to your saucepan mixture and fully combine.
5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the top and fold in lightly until just combined; don’t overmix. Pour into the prepared baking tin then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (22 mins was perfect in my oven, but be aware that yours may be different and keep an eye on your brownies). When baked, a knife should come out with nothing more than a few damp crumbs sticking to it; the brownies shouldn’t still be gunky (but don’t bake too long, as they will continue to cook in the pan once removed from the oven).
6. Allow to cool fully before cutting into 16 squares and demolishing the pan single-handedly.