Dairy-Free Brownies
Fudgy chocolate brownies made with dairy-free butter and dairy-free dark chocolate, baked for 25 minutes with a crackled top.
Photograph credit: Gluten Free, Dairy Free Brownies done right. Nathaniel will have a delicious Christmas… by Terence Reilly · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Flickr · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Make Ahead and Storage
Keeps in an airtight container for 4 days.
Dairy-Free Brownies: The Method
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Heat the oven to 175°C / 345°F. Grease and line a 20 cm square tin.
-
Melt the dairy-free block and chocolate together over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool for 5 minutes.
-
Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla for 3 minutes until thick and pale. Fold in the chocolate mixture.
-
Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and fold in until just combined. Pour into the tin.
-
Bake for 25 minutes until set with a few moist crumbs on a skewer. Cool completely and cut into 16.
Worth Knowing
- Check the chocolate label for milk.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar well.
- Take the brownies out while still slightly soft.
Some Background
Brownies do not need dairy to taste rich. What makes a brownie fudgy is fat and chocolate, and both can be dairy-free: coconut oil or a dairy-free baking block replaces the butter, and plain dark chocolate, which is often made without milk, provides the flavour. The only thing to check is the label, since some dark chocolate contains milk fat or traces of it.
Buy a dairy-free dark chocolate with at least 60 per cent cocoa, and melt it with the oil over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir it until it is smooth and glossy, then take it off the heat and let it cool a little before adding the eggs. If the mixture is too hot, it will scramble them. Whisk the eggs and sugar separately for 3 minutes until thick, which gives the characteristic crackled surface.
Do not skip the whisking. The thin, shiny crust on a brownie comes from sugar dissolving into the eggs and rising to the top as it bakes. A short beat gives a flat, dull surface. Fold in the melted chocolate and the dry ingredients gently, so that you keep the air.
Bake until the top is set and a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. They firm up as they cool, so take them out when they still look slightly underdone. Cool completely before cutting. Oat milk or plain water is used if the batter needs loosening.
What to Put Next to It
Dairy-free ice cream · Fresh raspberries · Coffee · Oat milk
Questions About Dairy-Free Brownies
How long does Dairy-Free Brownies take to make?
15 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, so at least 40 minutes. The method also needs time for cooling completely, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 16.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More American cooking and baking ideas from Weekly Delight.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy chocolate chip cookies made with dairy-free butter and dairy-free chocolate chips, baked for 12 minutes.
Gluten Free Brownies
Fudgy dark chocolate brownies made with ground almonds and cocoa instead of flour, baked for 25 minutes with a…
Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake
A tender two-layer chocolate cake made with oil, oat milk and vinegar and covered in a dairy-free chocolate ganache…
Gluten-Free Brownie Cookies
Fudgy chocolate cookies made with a gluten-free flour blend, with a shiny crackled top and a brownie-like centre…
Gluten-Free Cookies
Chewy chocolate chip cookies made with a gluten-free flour blend, with crisp edges and soft centres, baked for 12…
Dairy-Free Cupcakes
Light vanilla cupcakes made with oat milk and dairy-free baking block, topped with a dairy-free vanilla buttercream.