My first venture into allergy-free baking.

This recipe was given to me by a co-worker, whose children have life-threatening allergies.  For my ‘Allergy-free baking‘ month, I was keen to trial some recipes that were twists on familiar favourites.

Enter the brownie.

This recipe highlights dairy-free and egg-free baking techniques.  The dairy substitution seemed simple enough.  Oil instead of butter, and healthy doses of cocoa and dairy free chocolate instead of standard chocolate.  The egg substitution was a little less intuitive for me.  The technique of boiling water and flour to create a gluey paste that acts as a binder to replace egg was unusual for me.

But apart from that, the overall baking process, the texture of the mixture, and the final appearance of this old fashioned favourite was fairly straight forward.

So, if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.  Right?

Not necessarily.

Although these brownies appeared like regular brownies, for obvious reasons the flavour was not quite the same as the traditional variety.  The taste of the oil for me was perhaps a little too prominent, compared with the more subtle flavour that comes with butter.  And although these brownies were very chocolately, the depth of the chocolate flavour was just not as strong as other traditional recipes I have baked.

But in saying that, if I were looking for a dairy free and egg free chocolate treat, I would certainly jump on this recipe.  These brownies are sweet, rich, and chocolately.  They are moist in the centre and have a lovely crusty surface.  And best of all, they are a snap to bake.  5 minutes preparation and 25 minutes baking.  Simple.

{ Dairy-free, egg-free brownies }

* Ingredients *
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (optional)

* Directions *
Boil water and 1/2 cup of the flour over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches the consistency of a thin gluey paste. Remove from heat and let cool completely.  Mix sugar, salt, vanilla, cocoa and oil. Then add the rest flour-water mixture. Mix well.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour, baking powder and the chocolate chips.  Spread mixture into a greased 20 cm/8 inch pan. Bake at 180/350 for 25 minutes, or until a knife can be inserted and come out clean.