Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies with Cherry Almond Frosting.Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Valentine’s Day is a mere 2 days away! Whether you have a Valentine or not, Valentine’s Day is a perfect excuse to indulge in deliciously heart shaped desserts… Especially those made with dark chocolate.

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

These dark chocolate cherry brownies are delightfully dairy free, as they are made with coconut cream instead of butter. The almond frosting is a perfect complement to the tart bing cherries, and making it with coconut cream instead of butter gives it an even fluffier texture. I get my coconut cream from Trader Joe’s, but it is available other places as well (it may take some searching, and it’s not the same as coconut milk or coconut oil. If you are completely unable to find coconut cream, you can substitute with coconut oil… but I promise they’re better when made with the coconut cream!).

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies2

Here in Charlotte it’s been snowing for two days! The weather-men warned of this “winter storm” for a week, but I didn’t give it any credit because they’re typically wrong… And they kept giving it a 50% chance, which is basically playing it safe so that they’d be correct whether or not the snow actually came down. Over the past few days, the grocery stores have been packed with people buying too much food in case they’re snowed in for a few days. I felt a little out of place because I went to the grocery store for chocolate chips, cat food, and a bag of carrots for Cupcake (whose 4th birthday was this past Sunday! Happy Birthday, Cuppy!).

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

The most important foods (or beverages, I guess!) for me to have on a snow day are Hot Chocolate and coffee. I like to sip on something warm and cozy… And now, these Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies with Cherry Almond Frosting are just hanging out, calling my name like the telltale heart. They’re just sitting there, in the kitchen… Beating… Thump-thump…. Thump-thump… I’m going to try my darndest not to eat them until Valentine’s Day, but just in case I go through the rest of my groceries while I’m stranded here in the snow, at least I have them to rely on!

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Ingredients:

For Brownies:

  • 1 Cup Coconut Cream
  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
  • 1 Cup Dried Bing Cherries

For Frosting:

  • 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Coconut Cream
  • 1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
  • 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Cherry Juice (optional)
  • Red Food Coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl with a mixer, mix together Coconut Cream and both sugars until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Add cocoa.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture until thoroughly mixed.

Add chocolate chips and cherries.

In a parchment-lined 9×13 glass baking dish, spread the brownie mixture evenly. Place in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely on a rack before frosting.

For Frosting:

In a mixing bowl, mix together coconut cream, salt, almond extract, and cherry juice. Slowly add powdered sugar until nice and thickened. For thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency.  Add red food coloring 3 drops at a time until desired color is reached.

To cut these brownies out in heart shapes, I frosted the whole pan first and then put it in the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. Then, I removed the brownies with the parchment from the pan and using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, I pressed the cookie cutter into the brownie as far as it would go. Because these are very thick and the chocolate chips are hard, I had to use a knife to cut through them all the way using the cookie cutter as a guide.

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This recipe for dairy free dark chocolate cherry brownies with a tantalizing cherry almond frosting is a true Valentine's Day delight.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 20
Ingredients
For Brownies:
  • 1 Cup Coconut Cream
  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • ½ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • ½ tsp. Sea Salt
  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
  • 1 Cup Dried Bing Cherries
For Frosting:
  • 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • ¼ Cup Coconut Cream
  • ½ tsp. Almond Extract
  • ½ tsp. Sea Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Cherry Juice (optional)
  • Red Food Coloring (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. In a large bowl with a mixer, mix together Coconut Cream and both sugars until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Add cocoa.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture until thoroughly mixed.
  4. Add chocolate chips and cherries.
  5. In a parchment-lined 9×13 glass baking dish, spread the brownie mixture evenly. Place in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely on a rack before frosting.
For Frosting:
  1. In a mixing bowl, mix together coconut cream, salt, almond extract, and cherry juice. Slowly add powdered sugar until nice and thickened. For thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Add red food coloring 3 drops at a time until desired color is reached.
  2. To cut these brownies out in heart shapes, I frosted the whole pan first and then put it in the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. Then, I removed the brownies with the parchment from the pan and using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, I pressed the cookie cutter into the brownie as far as it would go. Because these are very thick and the chocolate chips are hard, I had to use a knife to cut through them all the way using the cookie cutter as a guide.

 

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Dairy Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Brownies

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