Dark Chocolate Espresso Cake Brownies {vegan friendly, refined sugar-free, dairy-free}

*These brownies are Vegan friendly, gluten-free friendly, dairy & egg free, and refined sugar free.

So, truth be told, I am not a coffee drinker. Caffeine turns me into a nervous, shaky wreck. But I do love the flavor and it just so happens that a good Tiramisu is nothing short of heaven, in my opinion.

It also so happens that adding coffee to chocolate intensifies chocolate’s flavor and leaves it more rich, dark, and well, deeply chocolate-y than it ever was before. I’ll often add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of instant coffee to things like chocolate cake to bump the chocolate up a notch.

These brownies are not an over-the-top espresso brownie, more just a hint-of-espresso-flavor brownie, so you don’t need to be a coffee aficionado to enjoy these. These babies are suuuuper super soft and moist with a fudge-y texture and are studded with chocolate chips.

These are made with a ‘flax egg’ to keep them Vegan. Basically, a flax egg is just ground flax seed mixed with water which, after a few minutes, thickens up to a sort of gel-like consistency. This will help bind the brownies together. Of course, if you are not concerned about the brownies being vegan, you can throw one egg in, instead.

A few notes:

*If it so happens that you don’t have applesauce, you can use another type of puree, such as sweet potato or even butternut squash. The applesauce adds a little bit of sweetness and lots of moisture to the brownies, so a sweet potato puree would work equally as well. You could even do a banana puree, if you had no other choice (I am not a fan of bananas). I’ve even done this and it worked like a charm. It will, however, give your brownies a banana-y taste. If you love bananas, well, then everything worked out great, right? If not, this is a sub you probably shouldn’t make

*Serve these hot with vanilla ice cream! I mean, is there really any better combo than hot brownies and cold, vanilla ice cream? I think not. At least not at the moment. Because all I can think about is brownies and ice cream.

In need of more wholesome chocolate-y desserts? I’ve got you covered

Raw Chocolate Cake Brownies with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

Raw Chocolate Dipped Oreo Cookies

Mostly Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Tart

Raw Vegan Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Caramels

Fresh Orange & Dark Chocolate Truffles

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cake Brownies {vegan friendly, refined sugar-free, dairy-free}

 

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Serves: 9 large brownies or 16 small brownies

Ingredients

• 1½ cups Whole Wheat Flour (use Gluten Free Oat Flour for a GF brownie)
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons Coconut Palm Sugar
• ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¾ teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1 tablespoon Ground Flaxseeds mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water(let sit for 5 minutes), for vegan brownies (or 1 egg)
• 1 cup Coconut Milk
• ¼ cup Espresso (I add 1 teaspoon Instant decaf coffee to ¼ cup hot water)
• ⅓ cup Coconut Oil, melted
• ¼ cup Applesauce (no sugar added)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (use your favorite vegan brand if vegan!)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
3. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flax egg, coconut milk, espresso, coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean.
7. Cool and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.
8. My favorite way to eat them? Serve them hot with your favorite vanilla ice cream on top!

3.2.2925

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