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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 22nd, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Hi Madhu I tried the cake with flaxseed, i saw my cake rise
then went flat what could be the reason, please help.
in one of the above reply diane says :
1 box of devil’s food cake mix plus 1 15oz can of pumpkin, mix, bake 20 mins @ 400 degrees.
that all we mix or is there any thing else water, oil etc.
thank you
asha
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 am
hahaha , they were betty crocker low fat fudge brownies family size and it required only 1 egg. Me , I think i’ll try the buttermilk substitute for eggs but will any kind of yogurt work ?? I don’t have any plain nonfat/fat yogurt but those flavored ones strawberry/blueberry/ etc.
Yes, that should be fine too. In my understanding even plain milk should be fine, because I think in brownies eggs act as a binding agent. Unlike cake brownies need not be light or need not rise too, so any liquid should be ok. I may be wrong, but that’s what I think.
July 1st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Yeah but the brownie mix mentioned that it was for a 13 x 9.But does it matter ?? So I used a 13 x 9 , and followed the baking time which was 26-28 minutes. With the eggs , oil it would be a successful batch but when I used eggs substituted for flax ratio : 1 tablespoon of flax / 1/4 water. Next time , I’ll use a 8×8 pan with your ingredients but with a brownie mix that mention for 13 x 9 ( family size ), and 1/4 water and 1 teaspoon of flax.
Oh! I thought you used an 8×8 inch mix in a 13×9 pan and thought that brownie would have gone hard/burnt if you had baked for 35-40 minutes. Were the instructions given for 1 egg or 2 eggs? Actually I have tried another version using 1/4 cup yogurt as egg substitute with the same brownie mix. That was very good too. Maybe you can try that or even buttermilk if you are not sure about flax seed powder.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Yesterday , I tried this and used a 13×9 pan
and it came out a failure when I wanted to attempt using the ratio 1/4 water , 1tbsp of flaxseed =(but questions are : Does it matter what kind of brownie mix I use? and what kind of flax seed ?I am using “Organic Ground Flax Seed and next time , I should use a 8×8 pan?
Jr, I think the problem is not because of the flax seed powder ratio or the brand of mix, it’s the use of wrong size pan. You have to use the pan which is mentioned in the pack. Brownie mixes are sold specifically for 13×9 inch pan and 8×8 inch pan. You can see in the picture that the brownie mix I have used mentions 8×8 inch pan.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
“For every egg in a recipe, use 1 teaspoon of flax seed meal mixed with 1/4 cup of water.” That means , if 2 eggs were required in the ingredient then it would be 2tsp of flax and 1/2 of water mixed together ?
Yes, you got it right.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Hi there, when making the brownies how much water do you blend the flax seeds with? Also, what should the consistency of the batter be?
Hi Jaz, as mentioned in the recipe it’s 1/4 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of flax seed powder. If I remember right, it was looked like any other brownie batter.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Have you tried using pumpkin instead of bananas? It works very well in chocolate cakes! 1 box of devil’s food cake mix plus 1 15oz can of pumpkin, mix, bake 20 mins @ 400 degrees. Unbelievably good!
Diane, I’ve seen something similar in recipezaar but have not tried it.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Hi,
I bought the duncan hines tried it using 1tsp of flax seed meal.It tasted ok but not that great.the instruction on the carton mentions 2 eggs so should one add more than 1tsp of flax seed meal.?Your receipe mentions only one tsp.thanks
Hi Sheila, the pack I got had instructions for 2 types of brownies, one with 1 egg and another one for 2 eggs (i think one for fudgy texture and other for cake like texture). I went with the 1 egg version and they came out good. You could try another teaspoon of flax seed meal if the pack mentions 2 eggs. Also blend the flax see meal and water thoroughly in a blender until its nice and gooey.
January 18th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Jak, Here’s the wiki on flax seeds. Remember to store it in the frig, and also that if you cook with them, you lose their nutritive value (the omega 3 fatty chains are broken upon cooking).
Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax
Thanks Deepa, I guess we are answering at the same time.
January 18th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Jak, where are you located? U.S? India? My mom finds flax seeds in CHennai, India. Probably at Nilgiris. And in the U.S, you will find flax seeds in most grocery stores. I buy them at whole foods. Google for “flax seeds” to see what they look like. –Deepa