Salted Miso Brownies

These are the most unusual brownies I have ever come across – and the most delicious. This recipe has been adapted from Meera Sodha’s The New Vegan column in the UK Guardian. It is vegan and gluten-free, and can be sugar-free if you use erithrytol instead of brown sugar. Make sure you use flavorless coconut oil, unless you actually want to add a coconut flavor.

The prep time is 10 minutes, and baking time is 45 minutes, so an hour start to finish.

Ingredients:

4½ Tbsp milled chia seeds
¾ cup flavorless coconut oil
8-9 oz very dark chocolate (85%), broken into small pieces – I use half a bar of Trader Joe’s Pound Plus 72% dark chocolate, and a bit less sugar
2 cups light brown Muscovado sugar, or organic brown sugar, or coconut sugar
Scant cup gluten-free flour
½ tsp baking powder
3 ½ tbsp white miso (shiro miso), available from WholeFoods, online, or my local food co-op
1 tsp flaky sea salt

Method:

1.   Heat the oven to 390°F; line a 8” or 9” square pan with greaseproof paper.

2.   In a small bowl, mix the milled chia seeds with 10 fl oz water and set aside.

3.   Put the coconut oil and broken chocolate into a medium-sized saucepan, and set over a low heat. Stir occasionally until melted, then mix in the sugar, flour and miso, and crumble in the salt flakes. Finally, stir in the soaked chia seeds, then pour into the lined pan, shaking gently to distribute the batter evenly.

4.   Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45 minutes, then allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. The brownies might still be a bit soft in the middle, but as they cool they will become deliciously fudgy. Leave to cool completely, then cut into squares.

Click HERE for the printable file.