‘Did I mention I’m a vegan?’ brownies

‘It took me many attempts to crack a decent vegan brownie – by which I mean the kind of brownie that everyone at the table will enjoy eating, not a sad square you pass to your vegan friend with an apologetic smile. The secret ingredient here is flaxseed, which is now widely available in health food shops and bigger supermarkets. When combined with water, it creates a thick paste that helps hold the brownie together, a little like eggs do.’

MAKES 16 small brownies

● 80g coconut oil, plus extra to grease

● 3tbsp ground flaxseed

● 200g vegan dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa solids), roughly broken into pieces

● 230g light muscovado sugar

● 2tsp vanilla paste or extract

● 1/2tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1tbsp boiling water

● 130ml almond or other plant milk alternative

● 160g plain flour

● 40g cocoa powder

● 1/2tsp baking powder

● 80g vegan dark, milk or white chocolate, chopped into small chunks

1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease a 20cm square tin with a little oil and line with baking parchment.

2 Put the flaxseed in a mug or bowl, add 7tbsp cold water, then give it a good stir. Leave to one side.

3 Put the coconut oil and dark chocolate in a medium saucepan set over low heat, stirring regularly, until melted. Leave to cool for 5min or so, until just warm to the touch.

4 Stir in the sugar. Add the vanilla, coffee, flaxseed mixture and milk alternative and stir until smooth. Sift over the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and 1/4tsp salt and gently fold together. Stir through the chocolate chunks.

5 Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and spread to the edges. Bake for 25-30min, until set on top with a few cracks appearing around the edges. Don’t worry if there’s still movement when you shake the tin; you want to avoid overbaking these, as this makes them dry and crumbly. Let the brownie cool completely before cutting into squares. These are good with ice cream (vegan, obviously).