Make 16 small squares. Ideal with a morning coffee.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (~120g) plain white or wholemeal flour
• 1 cup (~160g) brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (~40g) cocoa
• 1/2 cup (~75g) coconut oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• Quad shot of espresso plus a little extra water as needed, to make ~160ml fresh coffee.
• 1 banana (100g), chopped up coarsely.

• ~125g vegan 50% cocoa chocolate blocks (cut into half squares)
• 1/4 cup sultanas
• ~4 Tbs walnuts, peeled and chopped to nibble size.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C
2. Put everything except the chocolate, nuts and sultanas, in a mixing bowl
3. Mix thoroughly until well blended.
4. Add a little extra water or oat milk as needed (depending on the fluidity of your coconut oil), and combine in, to make a spreadable ‘cake mix’ consistency.
5. Add the chocolate chunks, nuts and sultanas, and stir through.
6. Pour into a lined tray(s) (or a silicone roasting tray), so it’s about 2cm deep. Spread out as best you can (using a wave movement action of an upright spatula to also move the chunks more evenly to fill the base).
7. Bake for around 25 minutes (until a skewer comes out clean). The time will vary based on the size of your pan or pans : ie two loaf tins ~20 mins, large pan in a regular oven ~30 mins. A glass baking square dish in a preheated air-frier set to bake is around 25 minutes.
8. Once cooked, lift it out of the hot pan by the backing parchment, and leave it to cool for a bit (a few minutes) on a cooling rack.
9. Turn out upside down onto another cooling rack, remove the baking parchment entirely, and let it cool base side up (ideally for a few hours) before cutting.
10. Chop it into squares (around 16 pieces for snack size)
11. Eat and enjoy!

Notes:

• This receipe is less chemistry for the precision of ingredients, so a cup measure is fine, and you’ll probably want to add a little more liquid accordingly to reach a cake-mix consistency.
• You can also add 1 Tbs white miso paste to the main ingredients, to add a different slant to the sweet flavour, to switch it up a bit.
• I now just freeze all but a couple of slices on the day of baking (which are all stored in an airtight container). Then transfer out 2 frozen slices to the room temperature container, ready for the next day, whenever the last defrosted slice is eaten.
• Otherwise it seems to last up to about 10 days in an airtight container at room temperature, but it’s best in the first 5 days or so. Even better defrosted at room temperature from frozen the day before.
• You can also reheat a couple of slices of this per person, for about 5-8 minutes from frozen, and top with vanilla ice-cream, for a deliciously rich dessert.
• The coffee espresso surprisingly doesn’t add much coffee flavour to the baked brownie, it just seems to enhance the richness.
• Miso paste is an optional addition for a little more depth to the flavours. You may prefer it or not.

Updates to this recipe:

• This is an updated verion in early 2023 from this earlier vegan recipe from 2014.
• Further updated in late 2024 when the fats were substituted to entirely coconut oil.
• Further updated again in early 2025 when fresh hazelnuts were added.
• Further update again in May 2025 when the coffee and sultanas were also added.
• In January 2026, I also found out Miso paste can be a great addition for a slightly richer flavour profile.