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Easy Eggless Brownies using Brownie Mix and Flaxseed Meal
July 10th, 2008 Madhuram Posted in Brownies, Egg Free, Vegan Baking | 
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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.
This my entry for Egg Replacement Event – Flax Seed Meal, hosted by me.
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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 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 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 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 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 2:37 pm
great loooking brownies….loved that pic…..seems the site have got a new look
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 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 9:25 am
hey madhu..i have posted ur adai today
..chk it out 
..thank u so much ..
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.