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Vegan Mint Fudge Brownies

Once again, it's St. Patrick's Day Observed. Last year i said i was going to flaunt tradition and make a non-traditional soda bread. Alas, i couldn't actually bring myself to do it. So we had surprisingly tasty regular vegan soda bread once again.

For dessert, however, we went with the ol' standby of "if it's green, it's St. Patrick's Day" because nobody wanted to eat Apple Orange Bread Pudding.

Now, here's fair warning - these brownies are a diabetes sugar coma just waiting to happen. They're super rich, too. Cut them into small 1 to 1.5-inch squares. You can always get yourself another piece if you don't need to go to the hospital after eating the first one.

Without any further ado or safety warnings, here's Vegan Mint Fudge Brownies:

Vegan Fudge Brownies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 of 12.3oz box of firm silken tofu (we like Mori-Nu)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 T butter (we like Earth Balance buttery sticks)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper, making sure the paper extends over the edges. Preheat the oven to 350degF.

Melt the chocolate chips and butter using a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave, be sure to heat the chips in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, to avoid burning the chocolate. Stop before all of the chips are melted. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Purée the tofu. In a large mixing bowl, combine the tofu, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

Pour the melted chocolate to the milk mixture and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients, whisking gently until just combined, but smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The center may not be set. When testing for doneness, your fork or toothpick should be wet but not covered in goo and some crumbs may stick to it. If the brownie needs more cooking, bake it in 2 minute intervals, testing each time, until done.

Allow to cool completely before using the parchment paper to lift the brownie out of the pan. The brownie can be cut and eaten at this point, but if you want to top it with cream and ganache, first carefully separate the brownie from the parchment paper and place it back in the baking pan uncut.

Spread the Vegan Mint Cream Cheese Filling evenly over the brownie. Top with a layer of ganache and leave to set before cutting and serving.