Help with oil sweating in vegan brownies

[Evangelina]

Hi Everyone,
I've been lurking around these forums for a very long time but never joined.
I have my own baking business and I've recently (IMO) perfected my vegan brownie recipe. My only issue is, since I sell these shrinkwrapped, sometimes after a day or two they seem to "sweat" oil.

My ingredients include pumpkin and vegetable oil (sometimes canola, sometimes coconut), so the oil is a little orange. It's harmless, of course, but it's not very pretty. Is there some reason why? Should I reduce the amount of oil I use? Does this happen for regular brownies?

Thanks!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi Everyone,
I've been lurking around these forums for a very long time but never joined.
I have my own baking business and I've recently (IMO) perfected my vegan brownie recipe. My only issue is, since I sell these shrinkwrapped, sometimes after a day or two they seem to "sweat" oil.

My ingredients include pumpkin and vegetable oil (sometimes canola, sometimes coconut), so the oil is a little orange. It's harmless, of course, but it's not very pretty. Is there some reason why? Should I reduce the amount of oil I use? Does this happen for regular brownies?

Thanks!

Reducing the amount of oil will probably not stop fat separation. Fat separation and/or leaking is usually caused by inadequate emulsification. A standard brownie contains eggs to add fat and to emulsify the batter. In the absence of egg, you need an emulsifier replacement..

Brownies are a bit difficult to stabilize in general as they contain a lot of fat and less flour than cakes and cookies.

Adjust your emulsifier replacement. And/or consider adding other emulsifiers
Two emulsifier replacements commonly used in vegan baking are soy lecithin and sunflower lecithin.

I don’t bake vegan. Only gluten free and regular baking. So I cannot speak to its performance in vegan applications. But soy lecithin definitely adds stability in gluten free and wheat baked goods.

Ive not used sunflower lecithin, so I can’t speak to its performance. From what I’ve read in trade journals, sunflower lecithin has a better nutritional profile. But sunflower lecithin performs a bit differently from soy, and can really effect texture.

 

[Evangelina]

Reducing the amount of oil will probably not stop fat separation. Fat separation and/or leaking is usually caused by inadequate emulsification. A standard brownie contains eggs to add fat and to emulsify the batter. In the absence of egg, you need an emulsifier replacement..

Brownies are a bit difficult to stabilize in general as they contain a lot of fat and less flour than cakes and cookies.

Adjust your emulsifier replacement. And/or consider adding other emulsifiers
Two emulsifier replacements commonly used in vegan baking are soy lecithin and sunflower lecithin.

I don’t bake vegan. Only gluten free and regular baking. So I cannot speak to its performance in vegan applications. But soy lecithin definitely adds stability in gluten free and wheat baked goods.

Ive not used sunflower lecithin, so I can’t speak to its performance. From what I’ve read in trade journals, sunflower lecithin has a better nutritional profile. But sunflower lecithin performs a bit differently from soy, and can really effect texture.

Fat separation! Thaaat's what it is! Thanks! I'll look into it

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Fat separation! Thaaat's what it is! Thanks! I'll look into it

Brownies are notorious for fat separation. It either happens during baking and you end up with with a gooey fat layer, or it leaks after baking, and you have oily brownies. So it’s not just a strange quirk with you,