Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

BRYANNA'S S'MORE BROWNIES
Servings: 16 (It's possible to make these GF-- see notes in recipe)
These are to die for, except you don't have to! Dark vegan brownies, baked on a graham cracker crust, with a luscious vegan marshmallow crème on top-- inspired by the old Girl Scout camp dessert.

INGREDIENTS
Graham Cracker Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (See Cooking Tips below, including ideas for GF)
1 Tbs organic unbleached sugar
3 Tbs melted vegan butter (try my homemade palm-oil-free Buttah)
Brownie layer:
3 Tbs vegan butter (try my homemade palm-oil-free Buttah) OR 3 T. oil (this works just fine!)
3 Tbs water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder, unsweetened (I use Dutch-process-- read about cocoa powders here)
1 Tbs espresso powder, or instant coffee or coffee substitute granules
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs flax seeds
1 Tbs Ener-G or Orgran No-Egg egg replacer powder
1/2 cup regular whole wheat or unbleached flour (NOT pastry flour) (OR use a GF flour mix)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
1 cup (approximately) Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme
(UPDATE: or try the 2nd vegan meringue topping recipe here.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the Graham Cracker Crust: Mix the crust ingredients and press in the bottom of a greased 8-inch square cake pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a cake rack.

To make the Brownie Layer:
In a small saucepan, melt the vegan butter and 3 T. water gently over medium heat, OR melt it in a medium microwave-proof bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then stir in the cocoa, vanilla and coffee powder. Set aside.

IF YOU USE OIL INSTEAD OF VEGAN BUTTER, skip the melting step. Just mix the oil with 3 T. HOT water and stir in the sugar, then the cocoa, etc. (I use a whisk for the cocoa).

Place the 1/4 c. water, flaxseeds and egg replacer in a blender. Blend on high for several minutes, until the mixture is "gloppy" like slightly beaten egg whites, with little brown flecks of flax skin throughout. Fold this into the cocoa mixture.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the cocoa mixture and stir briefly.

To bake the brownies:
Spread on the brownie batter top of the baked graham cracker crust. Bake for about 15 minutes. You may have to experiment with timing, according to your oven (try to use an oven thermometer to check the temperature, which can vary even in new ovens), and according to how fudgey you like the brownies.

Topping the Brownies:
Spread the brownies with the Ricemellow Crème while they're still hot-- and don't be tempted to spread on too much. It's very sweet and gooey and a little goes a long way! Use just enough so that the brownie layer is covered.

Place the pan 4 inches under the broiler and WATCHING CAREFULLY, broil until it bubbles up and browns. This takes very little time!  Or, use a culinary butane torch.

Cool on a rack, then cut into 16 squares. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 154.0 calories; 29% calories from fat; 5.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 107.4mg sodium; 130.6mg potassium; 26.8g carbohydrates; 1.7g fiber; 18.8g sugar; 25.1g net carbs; 1.5g protein; 3.2 points.

Cooking Tips
Instead of the Ricemellow Creme, you could  place vegan marshmallows ( this brand or this one) on top of the brownies, broil as instructed.



Happy National Brownie Day!

"Marshie Fluff"

I know it's been a long time coming, and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm full of excuses! Other projects, being on Weight Watchers, etc, etc.... I was working with my good friend and fellow cook/author/blogger Julie Hasson on some experiments with a new product called Versawhip 600K™ and it seemed to have alot of potential. We were even planning an e-book! However, Versawhip 600K™ proved to be a bit more problematic than we expected.

Versawhip 600K™ is a "pure enzymatically treated soy protein which can be hydrated with water and whipped to make a foam. Can replace egg-albumin or gelatin...", to quote one online vendor. And several vegan chefs have done their homework and discovered that Versawhip 600K™ IS, indeed, vegan and also kosher (some of the other Versawhip™ products are not). It is used mostly in Molecular Gastronomy and is a hydrocolloid. It definitely has potential for vegans, but you need alot of time and patience to work with it!

Here's from a past blog post updating my work with Julie on a vegan whipped topping using Versawhip 600K™: "We are working separately (we live in different countries!) and tossing ideas around by phone and email. My first batch was pretty good, and certainly looked good, but was lacking in several departments. I haven't had as much time as I would like to to work on this, and other ideas I have for using this product, so my progress has been slow. Today (rather guiltily) I spent most of the day on it (this included research on food science) and had to throw out two experiments. That is the nature of recipe development, and this product is particularly tricky-- there is a steep learning curve! Recipe development begins in your head, and ends in the kitchen, but in between, you crack open the books, you do online research-- it takes time. This is particularly true in alot of vegan cooking because you need to know what you are aiming for, and then how to achieve that with products that act differently from the ones you used as an omni! If you are a perfectionist, it may take even longer!"

In addition, this product is not cheap and I have to get it from the States, so far.  (But, since it's used in very small quantities, it's only if you are making failed experiments one after another and throwing them out that it gets really pricey!!)

Long story short, we both came out with two Versawhip 600K™ recipes-- yes, two each! And then we had to get on with other things! Maybe someday I'll fool around with it some more, but, for now....

Julie developed a great Homemade Vegan Marshmallow recipe and a wonderful Vegan Meringue Topping for pies, etc., which you can access by becoming a subscriber to her blog. (Lots of other good stuff there, too!)

I developed what I call Marshie Fluff (down-under-speak for vegan Marshmallow Creme) and a vegan "whipped creme" (Versawhipped Creme, I call it). Julie was going to film them for her website "cooking show", but she has been extremely busy with a new book, and running a new fabulous vegan food cart called Native Bowl in Portland (gourmet food cart capitol of the West!). (I'm proud to say that Julie uses my "Crack Gravy" in one of her bowls!) So, no time for much filming!


Little chocolate cakes with Marshie Fluff filling

We talked yesterday and decided I would just post my recipes, one at a time. They are still sort of "in progress", but definitely usable-- I just like to get things perfect!


S'More Brownies with Marshie Fluff Topping

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VERSAWHIP 600K™ "MARSHIE FLUFF" (VEGAN MARSHMALLOW CRÈME) (an “in progress” recipe)
Servings: 8
Yield: 2 cups

This keeps pretty well in a closed jar in the fridge for a few days. It will deflate a bit after that, but can be whipped up again in a few seconds with an electric mixer. I’ve used it as a filling in little chocolate cakes and in S’Mores and as a topping on my lowfat S’More Brownies (photo above), but I did not broil it. I have to play around with it more to see if it can be browned— perhaps with a torch.

IMPORTANT NOTE— Fresh or canned coconut milk [even the "lite" type] does not work with this mixture. Versawhip 600K™ does not seem to do well with fat, and coconut milk is quite high in fat. (Update: I don't know if the So Delicious® Coconut Milk Beverage works-- it's pretty low in fat. I'll have to try it soon.) Tofu also makes it refuse to whip up—even as little as 3 tablespoons!

Best price  for BULK Versawhip 600K™. (There is a 620K version there, too, but I don't know if it's vegan.) It's about $25 a lb. at this online vendor and that will make quite a lot of marshmallow creme (you only need 4 teaspoons for a batch!).

INGREDIENTS:
Mixture A:
1 tablespoons soymilk or other nondairy milk (NOT coconut milk -- see note above!)
1/8 teaspoon agar powder

Mixture B:
3 tablespoons soymilk or other nondairy milk (NOT coconut milk-- see note above!)
3/4 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
1/8 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons light granulated organic sugar

Mixture C: (have this measured out ahead of time)
1 teaspoon Versawhip 600K™
1 pinch table salt

Final Additions:
1 cup organic powdered sugar (icing sugar; confectioner's sugar)
1 tablespoon Versawhip 600K™
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

INSTRUCTIONS:
Mixture A:
Mix the 1 tablespoon soymilk and the agar together in a small ramekin or cup. Mix with a tiny whisk. Let stand while you proceed.

Mixture B:
Place Mixture B ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whip attachment that touches the bottom of the bowl, or in a bowl that you can use with an electric hand-held mixer (NOT an immersion/stick blender).

Combining A, B and C:
Whisk Mixture A again and then microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds.

WORKING QUICKLY, scoop the agar mixture into Mixture B in the mixer bowl, using a small spatula to get all of it out of the cup. Dump in Mixture C (the Versawhip and salt) and immediately start beating at medium speed for a few seconds. Stop and quickly scrape the sides of the bowl so that all of the Versawhip gets incorporated. Turn the machine on again and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.

The creme will increase in volume by about 5 times, and should be white and fluffy.

Final Additions:
To the fluffy white mixture (with the machine stopped, add the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon Versawhip, and the xanthan gum. Beat for another 2 minutes or so, or until the mixture is thick and gooey.



Scoop into a container, cover and refrigerate.



Nutrition (per 1/4 cup serving): 21.0 calories; 4% calories from fat; 0.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 52.9mg sodium; 13.4mg potassium; 3.3g carbohydrates; 0.2g fiber; 3.0g sugar; 3.1g net carbs; 1.1g protein; 0.4 points.

Enjoy!