Salted Dark Chocolate Vegan Blackberry Brownies

What could be better than rich, smooth, dark chocolate brownies? Sweet and bitter all in one. Maybe if you added a fruity component- a little bit of tartness. Sprinkle a little salt on top, and all the sudden we’re hitting four of our five major taste buds- who says desserts have to be all sweet? These salted dark chocolate blackberry vegan brownies are dark, earthy, complex and sophisticated. They come in midway on the fudgy/cake-like spectrum (moist, but don’t fall apart). They’re sure to quickly become your new favorite brownie recipe.

Click for a Print-Friendly Recipe

Grownup Brownies = Dark Chocolate Blackberry Brownies

When I was a kid, one of my favorite desserts was a good brownie- gooey, chocolatey, and sweet. I still love brownies. They’re one of my favorite desserts, but they are not without issue. I tried to resolve some of those issues here, starting with:

1. Brownies are too sweet. I use a little less sugar in my recipe than the average brownie- but more importantly, I bring in the bitterness of chocolate with dark chocolate chunks. While bitter may not be everyone’s favorite experience, I find a little bit really elevates the brownie-eating experience.
2. The edge is the best part. Although I guess the problem really is that there is not enough edge. Instead of making a pan of brownies, these dark chocolate blackberry vegan brownies are made in muffin tins, giving every serving its very own 360 degrees of edge. Problem solved. An added plus is this way they’re adorable and easy to share.
3. I have no third problem. Brownies are pretty great without my help.

Craving Cocoa? Try one of these other amazing chocolate recipes!

• Nut-Free Sunflower Seed Butter Vegan Chocolate Cups
• Vegan White Chocolate Granola with Wild Blueberries
• No-Bake Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake
• Savory Chocolate Pasta with Hazelnut Chili Cream Sauce
• Chocolate Coated Cranberry Wood Ear Mushrooms

Making Salted Dark Chocolate Vegan Blackberry Brownies

One of the keys to this recipe is to add dark chocolate chunks to bring the bitter notes to the sweeter brownies. If you’d rather avoid the whole bitter situation, you could add chocolate chips or a sweeter chocolate. But in my opinion, the dark chocolate is really what makes these dark chocolate blackberry vegan brownies special. I used a bar I’d found from Trader Joe’s (the Dark Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Bar), and cut each of the squares roughly into quarters to fold into my brownie mix. The best part bar, is it comes in a two pack- so once you’ve mixed the first bar into the brownies, there’s still the second left for you to eat.

This recipe also uses a vegan butter substitute. I’ve been using Fleishmann’s Unsalted Sticks because it’s one of the few unsalted vegan butter options I’ve managed to find. My local supermarket has them for around $2 a box, which is also fairly affordable compared to some of the other brands (please note the other Fleishmann’s margarines are NOT vegan, just the unsalted sticks). If you would rather not use margarine, you can always sub in coconut oil.

Once your brownie tins are filled, use your thumb to press three beautifully ripe blackberries into the center of each brownie (a pretty touch that reminds me of flowers). You don’t want to push them all the way to the bottom, but make sure they’re snuggly in place. Finally, the last bit of magic- sprinkle a little bit of salt on top of each brownie. You won’t need much- our tongues are able to pick up even the smallest amounts- but it will make a big impact on the final result.

Salted Dark Chocolate Blackberry Vegan Brownies

Click for a Print-Friendly Recipe

Like Salted Dark Chocolate Vegan Blackberry Brownies? Pin it!