Brown Sugar Espresso Brownies (Vegan)
A rich and chocolaty brownie with a mellow toffee flavor topped with an espresso-filled buttercream. This irresistible dairy-free dessert is a must-have.
Inspired by Starbucks’ Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso, these brownies are rich and sweet, with wonderful toffee undertones. They are filled with plenty of light brown sugar and chocolate chunks and topped with a creamy, caffeine-filled buttercream. Each bite offers an irresistible blend of coffee, chocolate, and notes of buttery toffee. This dairy- and egg-free treat will disappear as quickly as it’s made.
What you will need:
For this recipe, brown sugar and espresso powder are essential. I used light brown sugar, but you could use dark brown instead. To flavor the buttercream, I combined hot espresso and espresso powder; you could substitute hot coffee for the hot espresso. All other ingredients can easily be found at your local grocery store.
Brown Sugar Brownie
- all purpose flour
- light brown sugar
- plant based butter with salt
- dark chocolate – I used Lindt Excellence 70% chocolate bar
- vanilla extract
- ground flax seed
- plant based yogurt
- chocolate chunks – I used Enjoy Life chocolate chunks
Espresso Buttercream
- plant based butter with salt
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
- plant based heavy cream
- espresso powder
- espresso or hot coffee
How to:
Let’s start by preparing the brownies. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper. The next step is to prepare the egg replacement, which is a combination of ground flaxseed, yogurt, and water. To a small container, add the ground flaxseed, room-temperature yogurt, and water. Whisk the ingredients together and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken. While the egg replacement thickens, melt the butter and chocolate. Break the chocolate bar into pieces and combine them with the butter in a small pot. Place the pot over medium heat. Once the butter and chocolate are melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir until the butter and chocolate are well combined. Set the pot aside.
To a medium bowl, add the brown sugar and the flax mixture. With a handheld mixer, blend the sugar and flax mixture on medium-high speed for 1 minute. To the sugar mixture, add the melted chocolate and butter and the vanilla extract. Continue blending for an additional 30 seconds on medium-high speed. Add the flour to the wet ingredients and blend on medium speed just until well combined. Add the chocolate chunks, gently folding them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 27 minutes. The brownies should be pulling away from the pan’s edges and a toothpick inserted should come out with minimal crumbs. Once out of the oven, leave the brownies in the pan to cool to room temperature.
While the brownies are cooling, you can prepare the espresso buttercream. To a small bowl, add the espresso powder and the espresso (or hot coffee); stir until the espresso powder has dissolved and then set aside. You will need 1 tablespoon of this mixture to flavor the buttercream. Make sure the espresso mixture has cooled to room temperature before preparing the buttercream.
To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter. Using the balloon whisk attachment, cream the butter on high speed for 3 minutes. Next, add the powdered sugar to the creamed butter and continue blending on high for another minute, or until the ingredients are well combined. Finally, add the cold heavy cream, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of the prepared espresso mixture. Continue blending on high speed for 5 minutes or until the buttercream becomes light and fluffy.
The brownies are ready to be frosted once they’ve cooled to room temperature. Spread the buttercream evenly across the top of the brownies. The brownies can be decorated with a sprinkle of espresso powder and a few coffee beans. Store the brownies in the refrigerator for four to five days in an airtight container.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make, bake and enjoy!
Brown Sugar Espresso Brownies (Vegan)
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Brownie
- 100 grams dark chocolate – I used Lindt Excellence 70% bar
- 70 grams / 5 tbsp plant based butter with salt
- 240 grams / 1¼ cups light brown sugar
- 150 grams / 1¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2½ tbsp ground flax seed
- 3 tbsp / 45 grams plant based yogurt – room temperature
- 4½ tbsp water
- 150 grams / ½ cup + 2 tbsp chocolate chunks – I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks
Espresso Buttercream
- 113 grams / 8 tbsp plant based butter with salt
- 240 grams / 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp plant based heavy cream – cold
- 1 tbsp espresso powder
- 1 tbsp espresso or hot coffee
- optional decoration – espresso powder and coffee beans
Instructions
Brown Sugar Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper.
- To a small bowl, add the ground flax seed, water and yogurt; stir to combine and set aside for 5 minutes while it thickens.
- To a small pot, add the chocolate and butter. Place the pot over medium heat until the chocolate and butter have melted. Remove the pot from the heat, stir to combine and set the pot aside.
- To a medium bowl, add the sugar and flax seed mixture. With a hand mixer on medium-high speed, blend the sugar and flax mixture for one minute. Add the chocolate/butter mixture and vanilla extract and continue blending on medium-high speed for another 30 seconds. Add the flour and blend on medium speed just until combined. Add the chocolate chunks to the bowl and fold them into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 27 minutes or until the edges start pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted comes out with minimal crumbs. Allow the brownies to cool to room temperature before removing them from the pan.
Espresso Buttercream
- To a small bowl, add the espresso powder and the espresso (or hot coffee); stir until the espresso powder is dissolved and set aside. You will need 1 tablespoon of this mixture to flavor the buttercream.***make sure the espresso mixture has cooled to room temperature before preparing the buttercream***
- Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip the butter on high with a balloon whisk attachment for 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl and continue blending on high for another 30 seconds to a minute or until the ingredients come together. Add the vanilla extract, heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of the espresso mixture to the bowl and blend on high speed for 5 minutes.
- Once the brownies have cooled to room temperature, the buttercream can be added to the top. Spread the buttercream evenly across the top of the cooled brownies. Optional: Sprinkle the top of the buttercream with a little espresso powder and a few coffee beans.Store the brownies in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.
