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!
Vegan breakfast brownies with salted caramel hot chocolate frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can substitute with half and half of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp instant coffee granules
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup walnuts, lightly roasted and chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup applesauce
- ½ 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:
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup nondairy milk
- ¼ 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
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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
Are the walnuts important to the consistency? I don't think I have any on hand and I prefer my brownies without nuts...
Leave them out!
These are the absolute best. My daughter loves them. I can’t stop eating them. Thank you for sharing this delicious gem.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Can non-instant coffee be substituted for the instant coffee in some way? If so, what would you recommend?
Hi Laura, you can try using coffee (make it fairly weak) instead of water to make the flax eggs. You can also just leave the coffee out-- it's not very necessary, but I like it because it enhances the chocolate flavor.
Thanks! I love coffee flavour so using coffee in the flax eggs would be a great option for me.
They look and sound wonderful!!!! Gonna try them....today!!!!
Awesome, hope you like 'em!
Looks amazing, and I definitely want to make them. Can they be made in a muffin pan?
Yes, they'd be great in a muffin pan. Check with toothpick or fork after 20 minutes to see if they're ready.
Thanks, I've never baked before, and this looks like a simple enough recipe I can actually try. Will report back once we make some:)
They look delicious. Going to try making them one of these days. Beautiful pictures 🙂
Thanks Maya! 🙂