Paleo German Chocolate Brownies
If you love german chocolate cake, then these Paleo German Chocolate Brownies will be your new favorite dessert! The brownies are fudgy, decadent, and topped with a naturally sweetened coconut pecan frosting.
I grew up eating my grandma’s german chocolate cake, it was always mine and my grandpa’s favorite. I hadn’t had a piece of her cake in years, and I decided that we all need a gluten-free version in our lives. But not just gluten-free, I took it a step further and made these brownies paleo, naturally sweetened, and suuuuper delicious.
Why You’ll Love These Paleo German Chocolate Brownies
The brownie layer is made from scratch, no boxed mix here! It is so simple, and only requires all of the usual ingredients that you would find in a paleo brownie recipe (i.e. almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, etc.) It is fudgy, rich, and one of my favorite brownie recipes that I’ve ever made.
The frosting is really the star of the show here, this is what makes them ‘german chocolate’. Most german chocolate cake frostings are made with condensed milk and a TON of sugar. I wanted this one to be just as delicious and sweet, but made with more wholesome ingredients. This is where the dates come in! Dates are naturally sweet, chewy, and very rich in recipes like this. You just pulse them in a food processor with the other frosting ingredients, and I’m telling you, it really does come out to be a thick, gooey, insanely delicious frosting to put on top of these brownies. It’s like date caramel!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- almond flour
- coconut flour
- coconut sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- dairy-free chocolate chips
- coconut oil
- cacao powder
- eggs
- dates
- maple syrup
- unsweetened shredded coconut
- chopped pecans
If you make gluten-free or paleo recipes regularly, then I’m willing to bet that you have most of these ingredients in your pantry right now. There is really nothing too fancy in these, which is one of the best parts of this recipe. All of these simple ingredients come together to make the most FLAVORFUL brownies that really do taste like a traditional german chocolate cake!
Most of my go-to baking staples come from NOW Foods. I love this brand so much and have been using their products for years I’m pretty sure like 75% of my pantry is stocked with their products. I can always trust the quality (and taste), and I have never found a food product of theirs that I don’t love. In this recipe, I used NOW Foods shredded coconut and cacao powder. Their cacao powder is so pure, it is the only cacao powder I use in my recipes. And it is important to make sure that you’re using unsweetened shredded coconut in this frosting because it would be way too sweet if you used the sweetened version.
Use code ‘CANDACE’ to get 15% off all NOW Foods products!
How To Make Paleo German Chocolate Brownies
These decadent brownies come together in two simple steps! All you need to do is bake this simple brownie recipe, and top it with the gooey frosting.
- The brownie batter comes together like any other simple brownie recipe. Everything is mixed together in one bowl and poured right into your baking dish. You use a hand mixer to fluff up the eggs and coconut sugar first. Then you whisk in your dry ingredients, and lastly pour in the melted chocolate and coconut oil and stir until it looks like a smooth delicious batter.
- The frosting comes together in a food processor and couldn’t be easier. Just soak your pitted dates in hot water for 5 minutes, then drain and add them to the food processor and pulse a few times to break them up a bit. Next, add the rest of your frosting ingredients and pulse until you have a thick and gooey consistency.
- Bake the brownies, and once they have cooled, smooth the frosting on top!
You can never have too many versions of a good brownie, and these are the REAL DEAL. If you really want to wow your friends and family, make these and sit back and watch everyone devour them. I hope you love these as much as I do!
Thank you to NOW Foods for sponsoring this recipe!
Paleo German Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 ¼ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
Frosting Layer
- 1 cup pitted medjool dates
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp real maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Use a hand mixer to cream together the eggs and sugar until the mixture has thickened up a bit. This should take about 2 minutes.
- Add in the almond flour, coconut flour, and cacao powder and whisk to combine.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the melted coconut oil and chocolate chips. Use a fork to stir together until the chocolate starts to melt into the coconut oil. If the oil isn't hot enough and the chocolate isn't melting, you can put it in the microwave for 30 second intervals until it is melted, stirring each time.
- Once the chocolate is melted into the coconut oil, pour the chocolate into the brownie batter and whisk until it is incorporated.
- Line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. I like to cut two strips the length of the baking dish and lay them across each other, this makes it much easier to lift the brownies right out of the pan when they have cooled.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes, until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Once the brownies are done baking, let them cool for at least 15 minutes before removing them from the pan.
- While the brownies are baking, make the frosting layer: Soak your pitted dates in hot water for 5 minutes. Once soaked, drain them and add the dates to a food processor, along with the milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Pulse a few times to break up the dates and get everything to come together.
- Next, add the shredded coconut and pecans. Pulse a few more times, until they get evenly incorporated.
- Once the brownies have cooled completely, you can use a spatula to gently spread the frosting into an even layer all over the top of the brownies.
- Cut into squares and enjoy!
Notes
- I used Enjoy Life allergy-free chocolate chips, but there is a little bit of processed sugar in these. If you are looking to be strictly processed sugar free, then use a sugar free or coconut sugar sweetened chocolate chip.
- It is important to not skip the step of mixing together the sugar and eggs, this yields a crackly top to the brownies, and a much better texture throughout.
Looking for more paleo baked goods?
- Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Grain-Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Grain-Free Cranberry Lemon Cookies
- Grain-Free Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Grain-Free Snickerdoodle Blondies
FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for my latest recipes!