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Easy Eggless Brownies using Brownie Mix and Flaxseed Meal

Madhuram — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:26:25 +0000

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!

So I was searching in the net for egg substitutes and found this and this very informative. I decided to start experimenting with the various egg replacements and this is my first one using flax seed meal. I add flax seed meal in my cereal (both cold and hot), salads and even in the chapathi flour. Being vegetarians walnuts and ground flax seed are the only sources of Omega 3 fatty acids.

Ingredients
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)

Step-by-Step Procedure With Images (Click on the thumbnails for a bigger view)
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.

My Notes
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.

Twirly Whirly Pizza

Madhuram — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:08:44 +0000

I don’t know what it is with the oven and me, I just love to use the oven. Before starting the new adventure of baking eggless cakes and muffins, I started simply with cooking store bought frozen French fries and pizzas. We prefer making them at home because we can control the amount of cheese and increase the quantity of veggies. I’ve not yet tried to make the dough myself. Recently I have also found a simple recipe to make home made pizza dough using whole wheat flour. Can’t wait to try that!

But before that a simple one to make at home with store bought ingredients. I saw this recipe in Parents Magazine a couple of months back. I wanted to try this for a long time now, but got a chance only today. You need just 4 ingredients to make this beautiful looking and tasty pie. Refrigerated pizza dough, sauce, any cheese of your choice (I used the part skim pizza blend cheese) and fresh baby spinach. This can also be considered a healthy pizza, because it requires only half a cup of cheese and has spinach. Not bad for a pizza, which has a bad reputation as greasy food. The process is also very easy, but a little messy at the end. The next time I bake it I would add some pepper powder/chilly flakes too. It was very bland for our taste. Other than that, this recipe is definitely a keeper. Kids will also enjoy doing this. Find the recipe here.

Stage 1:
Unroll the dough.

Stage 2:
Spread the pizza sauce and sprinkle half of the cheese.

Stage 3:
Top with the spinach leaves. (I used more than 1 cup, so rolling was a bit difficult)

Stage 4:
Roll the dough starting with the short end.

Stage 5:
Cut into 8 pieces and place it in a greased pie tin and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Stage 6:
Bake it for 22-25 min and indulge!

Welcome To EgglessCooking.com

Madhuram — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:54:35 +0000

Being vegetarian and very much interested in baking I’m always in search of eggless baking recipes. So whenever I come across such recipes I bookmark them and one day I realised that the list was growing very big and I wanted to organize them. Then I got an idea, why not put everything under one site for easy reference. When I read the comments on other food blogs, I see that a lot of people are looking for eggless baking recipes . So I’m trying to collect as many recipes as possible and post the links here. Most of the links have recipes with detailed explanation and photos (thanks to the foodies who are doing a wonderful job of recording their recipes in a very professional manner), so it can be easily followed by novices too.

Since I’m also new to baking and with a finicky eater in home (not my son, it’s my husband), I think I will not be able to try all the recipes. So I request all of you to try as many recipes as possible from the list and leave your comments and tips below the relevant recipe. This will be an excellent guide for others too. You can also post the links of eggless baking recipes you come across and I can add it to the list.

So get the ingredients, tie your apron and pre-heat the oven!

LET’S START BAKING, OF COURSE WITHOUT EGGS!!!

Madhuram

P.S. Originally I wanted the name egglessbaking, but that was not available, so I went with egglesscooking.com. That’s fine by me, now I need not restrict myself to baking alone. Yay!