Easy Eggless Brownies
Ever since I started baking, I have used only bananas as a substitute for eggs. Bananas definitely give the moist texture for cakes and breads, but the drawback is the flavor of bananas is dominant in those baked goods. So whatever changes you make otherwise in the recipe, the end product tastes the same. For example my carrot cake and zucchini bread tasted similar. It was definitely very good, but we need some change right!
Brownie Mix of your choice (I used Duncan Hines Chocolate Lover’s Brownies Double Fudge. See My Notes for the reason)
Cold Water - 1/3 cup
Vegetable Oil - 3 tablespoons
Flax seed meal (ground flax seed) - 1 teaspoon
Water - 1/4 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon (not mentioned in the packet)
Walnuts - 1/2 cup (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350F (325F for glass pans)
2. Empty brownie mix into bowl.
3. Add 1/3 cup cold water.
4. Add 3 tablespoons oil. (Actually 1/3 cup of oil was mentioned in the packet)
5. In a small cup add the flax seed meal and slowly add the water and whisk it with a fork and add it to the brownie mix.
6. I chose to add vanilla extract also.
7. Stir everything until well blended (about 40-50 strokes)
8. Now add the nuts and combine it once again.
9. Generously grease the brownie pan. I used a non stick 8″x8″ pan.
10. Spread the mixture in the pan.
11. Bake it anywhere between 30-38 minutes. (Check the instructions in the package for detailed baking time). I baked mine for 40 minutes. But I think I should have taken it around 38 minutes itself, because I had little cracks on the top. That was the only negative thing with these brownies, otherwise they were unbelievably moist and gooey. We did not taste the flax seed at all. Just be sure that the brownie cools out completely before you can cut into squares.
1. Buying the brownie mix - If you are a vegetarian, be sure to check the ingredients, because some brands contain lard, tallow (animal fat). The brand I chose did not have animal fat.
2. I bought the double fudge brownies, which had a chocolate syrup pack, which had to be added to the brownie batter. But I omitted it because this was the first time I was going to bake brownies and that too without eggs. So I did not want to experiment too much.
3. Egg substitute: I came across in many books and websites that ground flax seed is a good substitute for eggs while baking. But the ratio of flax seed meal to water was different in each and every place. I recently bought a vegan cook book and there were a lot of baking recipes using flax seed meal. So I decided to used the proportion given in that book. For every egg in a recipe, use 1 teaspoon of flax seed meal mixed with 1/4 cup of water.
4. Checking the doneness of brownies: I read in the same book that inserting a toothpick to check the doneness does not work for brownies. Instead “the touch test” was recommended. When you touch the top of the brownies, it should not leave an indentation. If it does, the batter is still soft, so you need to bake it for another couple of minutes.
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Tags: Baking-Eggless, Brownie, chocoloate, egg free recipes, Egg Replacements, Egg Substitutes, Flax seed meal, Fudge, Vanilla Extract, vegetable oil, Walnuts
July 10th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Wow, that look like regular brownies, madhu!! its great that u r taking the effort and experimenting with all these diff veg ingredients, which would benefit many other people!! great job!!
July 10th, 2008 at 6:48 am
I too sometimes replace flax seeds for eggs in baking.Brownies look soo cool
July 10th, 2008 at 6:53 am
this is awesome madhu…the brownie looks fudgy and just perfect:)…too good..
July 10th, 2008 at 6:53 am
Brownies are my first love
Formula I use - 2 eggs = 1/2 cup (milk + 1 tbsp curd) + 1/4 tsp cooking soda
Formula I use for lactose intolerant or vegan - 2 eggs = 1/2 cup apple puree + 1 tbsp corn flour + 1/4 tsp baking powder
As long as recipe does not exceed 4 eggs or calls for a function of eggs different from binding and moisture - this works well. I increase baking powder by a pinch if the cake needs to be airy.
Will keep track of your experiments with other substitutes.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Looking at that lovely picture,who could say these are eggless brownies. Fabulous!
July 10th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Wow, that’s very useful info. Thanks Madhu accka, we hate the smell of eggs in desserts and this is a great alternate, will definetely try it out in the fall/winter
* I just don’t how you can even consider turning on your oven in this weather*
I’m pretty sure avacado’s have omega 3 as well, maybe you should give that a try.
I googled it just to be sure and it looks like I am right.
http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/avocado(Section on nutriotional info)
July 10th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Your brownies look very tempting indeed!
July 10th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Brownies look great Madhu…. Lakshmi’s note has caught my attention..
I should give something minus eggs a try…
July 10th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Great brownies, cannot believe it is eggless
July 10th, 2008 at 11:13 am
JZ, thank you very much. It’s true that necessity is the mother of invention. Initially I tried baking with eggs, but didn’t like the smell, but I love to bake. So trying out new things.
Kamala, I have read about flax seed meal earlier, but this is my first try.
Ranji, thank you. It tastes very good too.
Lakshmi, thank you very much for the awesome tips. I’ll keep this in mind while baking the next time.
Rashmi, yes the pictures have come out very well. Thanks to my husband.
Sivajini, I love to bake and can’t get enough of it, so I don’t mind the weather. Thanks for the info. about avocados, I didn’t know that it also had Omega 3 fatty acids. Will do some search about it too and know in detail.
Roma thank you very much.
Dee, me too. I also want to try something next time following her tips.
Cham, me too. Actually I wanted to name it “I can’t believe it’s eggless brownies.”
July 10th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
the brownies look so inviting, Madhu! Good thing those are eggless.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Oh wow..brownies are my weakness. Yours look fantabulous!
July 10th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Hi Madhu, had some brownies this morning from JK. They were awesome. One thing I like better about these compared to brownies made solely from the store bought mix is that yours are fluffier and not at all chewy. That makes for a very enjoyable brownie eating experience!
Thanks.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Wow.. thats nice alternative for eggs .. Nice one dear
July 10th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Thank you so much, for me it is great information from your post and comments section too. Good to know about eggs substitutes.
My post is about watermelon.
Best wishes to you!
July 10th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
first time to ur blog…and i just luved it….ur brownies looks inviting and delicious…am a chocolate lover and np doubt i would luv this…superb
July 10th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Hey Madhu, these eggless brownies look amazing..Just like the ones we get in Cafe Coffee day etc.. Just Perfect!!
July 10th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
The pics rocks. I love brownies love the way you made those brownies and nice way of adding flax seeds instead of egg. will try this next time.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Madhu, those brownies look great…and some information you have there..very useful for ppl to try eggless!
thanks for the feedback, do convey to your mom, that I really appreciated her thought
July 11th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Madhu, thanks for referring me to DK!! I am honored that u think my blog is good enuff to be recommended on cake decor!! Thanks again
July 11th, 2008 at 7:19 am
Uma, the taste was also so good.
Bharti, thank you very much. Sometime soon I’m going to try making brownies right from scratch.
Gary, your welcome. I’m very glad you liked the brownies.
Kalva, yes it is. But I read somewhere else that if a recipe requires 1 egg, you can just omit it and still you will get the taste. Should try that also.
Krystyna, your welcome. I’m thinking of experimenting with various other egg replacements also. I’ll check your post too. We love watermelons.
Suma, welcome to my blog. I’m very glad that you like it. Yes the brownies were super.
Swati, thank you. I’ve never tasted a brownie in India. I think there are so many changes in India since I left in 2003.
Shriya, the pictures were taken by my husband. And be sure to add flax seed powder and not the flax seeds itself. Either you can get the flax seeds and powder it yourself or readymade ground flax seed is also available in the supermarket’s natural food aisle.
Srivalli, thank you. I’ll definitely tell her.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:25 am
hey madhu..i have posted ur adai today :)..chk it out :)..thank u so much ..
July 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I have found soyapowder too a great substitute and have done many with flax seed - it is definitely a great way to replace eggs! Lovely brownies:) The pics are damn good!
July 11th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Nice post Madhu..The pictures are very informative..I try brownies with eggs ..will try this next time
July 11th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
great loooking brownies….loved that pic…..seems the site have got a new look
July 11th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
i am so glad i found this site the other day! the brownies look yummy, i did not know quite how to substitute bananas, though i’ve used flax meal and yogurt lots.
today i made a chocolate cake with no eggs. it was moist and yummy!:
preheat oven to 350. grease and flour either 2 8″ pans or 1 9×13 inch pan
combine:
1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup (or less) sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk, yogurt or sour milk
1/2 cup neutral oil
2 tsp vanilla
first mix dry ingredients together. then add in the wet ones, mixing till smooth.
i added a tb of milk because the batter was quite thick.
spread into pan and bake 25-45 minutes. if using smaller pans, 25 minutes should be about right. Check for doneness with a toothpick or fork.
let rest for 5 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool.
here is another recipe i tried with good results, too, though i used cow milk vs soy yogurt:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/12/chocolate-orange-cake.html
as you can see, i love chocolate cake!
this is a great site, again, thank you!
July 11th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Brownies look sinfully delicious. I am one of those eggless baking person too. But frankly I have not had success with flax seeds substitute. The cake does not come out that moist. But anyway, I will try out your version some time later.
Loved your tabbed format of displaying recipes! It is awesome.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Sunshinemom, I also read that soy flour can be subsituted for eggs. I’m going to try that too.
Divya, thank you very much.
Bhags, yes it’s my husband’s idea.
Meredith, thank you very much for your lovely compliments. Do try the carrot cake and zucchini bread with bananas, it’s very delicious. I will also try your recipe and check the link also.
RedChillies, thank you. The brownies really came out very well. My husband took them to his office and everybody loved it.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:00 am
These look heavenly! And we HAVE to try this now because they’re eggless.Thank you so much for the recipe
July 15th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Welcome to my blog A&N. Yes, you have to try it to believe that it’s eggless.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:43 am
these look beautiul madhu! I generally make betty crocker rownies without eggs too! btw, I made espresso kahlua brownies 2 days back and posted about it, with info about egg substitutes:)
July 17th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Oh, what an amazing recipe this is. My son is allergic to eggs and was recently eyeing some brownies at a store, and I have been looking for a recipe. This’s fantastic. THANK YOU!! –Deepa
July 17th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Oh - I wanted to add another thing. Flax seeds taste great, but when cooked, the omega 3 chains are lost. So you have to keep flax seeds (and the oil) in the refrigerator, in a container not penetrable to light, and take atleast a table spoon (oil) or 2 tablespoons (ground seeds) daily, for your daily omega 3 dose. –Deepa