pauraque_bk | uncle eo's famous vegan brownies

It's up for debate whether these are brownies or cake; they're not fudgy, but they're certainly chocolatey, and very good. You'd never know they're vegan -- I'm a full-blown omnivore, and I eat them just because I like them.

Ingredients:

1.25 cups flour
1 cup sugar
0.33 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla
0.33 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (a bit hotter if you're not using a Pyrex dish).

2. Mix the dry ingredients together.

3. Stir in the water (better if it's hot), vanilla, canola oil, and finally add the vinegar. Stir immediately; little bubbles should form as the vinegar reacts with the baking soda. (We all did this science project in school, right?) You need those bubbles to make the batter rise, so don't stir too much, just until it's blended.

4. Bake in a 8x8 Pyrex dish for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

It seems impossible that this could work, yet it does. Splendidly. It's chemistry!