Vegan Brownies and Vegan Frostings

After teaching a Light, Vegan Thanksgiving class at Salud, the Healthy Pantry, I was introduced to a wonderful new product: Soom Chocolate Sesame Butter. This chocolate sesame seed paste is a healthier lower-sugar, higher-fiber, higher-protein delicious alternative to Nutella-like spreads. It is full of heart healthy fats, antioxidants, and helps control post-meal blood sugars.

I quickly started taste-testing this chocolatey goodness with everything- apple slices, graham crackers, toast, plain oatmeal.  It is so versatile. I decided I wanted to try making a vegan dessert using Soom Chocolate Sesame Butter.  I thought I would start with my gluten-free polenta brownies for inspiration, but that is so far from vegan with 12 eggs per recipe.  So I tried replacing the eggs with a can of coconut milk (full fat). These brownies were rich and moist, but so very flat. So I added oat flour and baking soda to increase the volume. Perfecto.

Vegan Polenta Brownies

What you'll need:
-1 can (13.66oz) coconut milk
- 2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 TBSP agave syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup corn meal
- 1 cup oat flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup Soom chocolate sesame butter

What to do:
Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease a 9x9 baking pan. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using a whisk or electric mixer until well combined. Pour mixture in greased baking pan.  Bake 26 - 30 minutes, until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.

For the Frostings

Then it was onto the super fun part: frostings. I made a brownie parfait using a light yogurt "frosting" flavored with coffee, so I thought I would try out a few more frostings- pumpkin mousse frosting, maple frosting, and many more.  You can use many ingredients to make vegan frostings, including coconut milk, soy yogurt, and vegan buttery spreads.

Before you start the frostings, there are some overnight steps you may need to take.  First, for the coconut frostings it is important to refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight. This separates the water from the creamy white fatty part. When you open the can, pour out any water that is sitting on top (discard or reserve this for another use).  Scoop out the creamy white part. Whip this with a whisk or electric mixer. Use this whipped coconut milk when necessary in the recipes below.

When using yogurt-based frostings, it is important to strain the yogurt. Do this by wrapping it in a cheesecloth over a strainer overnight. This removes liquid and thickens the yogurt. Whipped coconut milk can be added to this to help thicken it more, but for some purposes (ie brownie parfait) you may want to leave out the coconut milk.

Vegan Frostings

*Note: because I made a variety of frostings, I made small amounts of each.  Each frosting spread over 3 or 4 brownies. If you are making only 1 frosting, multiple the ingredients by 3.

Chai Spiced Frosting
This is one of my favorites! I bought some chai spiced black tea that smelled amazing.  I made strong tea by heating 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk and steeping 1 tea bag for 5 minutes. Just a little whipped coconut milk to thicken it and powdered sugar to sweeten it and this is perfect. *Note: I had leftover strong tea, so I used that to flavor my plain oatmeal one morning. Yum Yum Yum!
Ingredients: 1/4 cup whipped coconut milk, 1 1/2 TSP strong chai tea, 1 1/2 TBSP powdered sugar

Chocolate Avocado
It may sound weird to be using Avocado, but this frosting is so rich, creamy, and chocolatey. It is also very simple.  Just add all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until combined and creamy.
Ingredients: 1/2 and avocado, 1/2 TSP vanilla, 1 TBSP cocoa, 1 1/2 TSP agave, 2 TBSP powdered sugar, 1 TBSP Soom chocolate sesame butter

Zesty Orange Yogurt Frosting
Soy yogurts seem to have a different flavor and taste from brand to brand.  Try a couple and find one that you like best. I used plain yogurt so I could flavor and sweeten it to my liking. This is also a good way to flavor yogurt for a snack! I added a little whipped coconut milk to thicken it to make it the consistency of frosting.
Ingredients: 2 TBSP strained soy plain yogurt, 1 TBSP fresh orange juice, 1 tsp orange zest, 1 TBSP whipped coconut milk. Garnish with orange zest.

Salted Caramel Frosting
Of course this is going to be amazing. Salted caramel anything is delicious.  This vegan caramel is so delicious and buttery. To make the caramel, first melt butter in a small saucepan.  Add brown sugar and almond milk and simmer for about 3 minutes, until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat. Once caramel has cooled, add 1 1/2 TBSP caramel to the remaining ingredients.  Use remaining caramel for garnish.
Ingredients: 2 TBSP buttery spread (no trans-fat spread such as Nature Balance Vegan Buttery Spread), 2 TBSP brown sugar, 1 1/2 TBSP unsweetened almond milk, 2 TBSP whipped coconut milk, 1 TBSP powdered sugar. Garnish with extra caramel sauce.