Vegan breakfast brownies with salted caramel hot chocolate frosting, no added oil

My vegan breakfast brownies with salted caramel hot chocolate frosting are a mouthful to say, but your mouth will thank you for all that deliciousness. These are whole wheat, and have no added fats or oils except from healthy flax and walnuts.

If you love chocolate — and if you say you don’t, I won’t believe you — you will adore these vegan breakfast brownies with hot chocolate frosting.

I call them breakfast brownies because we have them for breakfast. Honest. And why not? They are all whole wheat, they’re sweet but not cloying, they’re packed with fruit (applesauce) and they have absolutely no fats added to them. There is some fat here, but it comes from heart-healthy walnuts and flax meal.

But what really knocks the deliciousness of these brownies out of the park is the salted caramel hot chocolate frosting that goes on top.

Desi, who claims he’s not a huge fan of chocolate, gobbles these up as fast as I can make them. They taste far richer and more decadent than they actually are, which could be a drawback, come to think of it, because no one who tastes these will actually believe you when you claim they’re healthy. But that, so far as I can see, is the only drawback of these vegan breakfast brownies.

I have been grooving on chocolate for breakfast lately, and it’s really not a bad thing, because you do know that chocolate is actually good for you, packed as it is with antioxidants and all? Researchers say that when eaten for breakfast, chocolate can improve blood flow to the brain and help boost your brain power. Don’t believe me? Read this.

But then again, do you really need an excuse to eat chocolate? Or brownies?

Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend. May yours be sunny and filled with spring flowers!

Print Recipe

4.84 from 6 votes

Vegan breakfast brownies with salted caramel hot chocolate frosting

My Vegan breakfast brownies with salted caramel hot chocolate frosting are a mouthful to say, but your mouth will thank you for all that deliciousness. These are whole wheat, and have no added fats or oils except from healthy flax and walnuts.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Snack/Breakfast

Cuisine: Soy-free, Vegan

Servings: 20 brownies

Calories: 128kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can substitute with half and half of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup walnuts, lightly roasted and chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (can sub with sugar)
• 2 flax eggs (whisk 2 tbsp flax meal with 6 tbsp water and set aside for a couple of minutes)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For salted caramel hot chocolate frosting:

• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup nondairy milk
• 1/4 cup cane sugar or turbinado sugar
• A pinch of pink salt or sea salt flakes

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving some overhang to get the brownies out of the pan after they have baked.
• To make the brownies, in a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, coffee granules, chocolate chips, and salt.
• In a larger bowl, mix the applesauce, maple syrup, flax eggs and vanilla extract.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spatula until just combined.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Make the salted caramel hot chocolate frosting:

• In a small saucepan, mix the sugar and the milk. Heat until the sugar has melted and started to turn brown.
• Turn off the heat and add the chocolate chips. Working fast, stir them in with the spatula until melted, then frost the top of the cake. The frosting solidifies rather fast, so work quickly.
• Sprinkle on some more salt flakes if desired. Cool thoroughly, cut, and eat.

Nutrition

Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.7g | Protein: 2.2g | Fat: 5.6g | Sodium: 66mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11.4g | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.7mg

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Try these recipes next:

Vegan Double Chocolate Pancakes

No Added Fat Brownies

Vegan Banana Coffee Cake with Chocolate Streusel

Vegan Chocolate Babka

Vegan Pumpkin Bread Pudding