Vegan Maple Pecan Brownie Sundaes

A lot of restaurants have brownie sundaes on their menu. I have seen other people order them, but I have never actually had one of my own. One of the restaurants I went to this year for my Birthday had a brownie sundae that came free if it was your birthday, but it wasn't vegan sadly, so they brought it and my family ate it and I just watched. Don't worry I wasn't sad, but I was inspired to create my own brownie sundae at home! Why not? I like to bake brownies, and make ice cream!

Now I could have gone with the standard plain brownies with fudge and vanilla ice cream, or maybe chocolate ice cream, but I was in the mood for caramel. So I decided to pair the caramel with what it pairs best with, pecans and maple. My decision may have just been influenced a little by the fact that I had recently made some maple pecan ice cream and happened to have it on hand. That and the fact that I love pecans, caramel and chocolate together. I mean, turtle (not the animal, the candy and flavor combo) is amazing.

All I had to do was bake the brownies and make the caramel. I like my brownies super fudgy. So I made them a little different than usual and used a combination of nut butter and applesauce. Which also means that these brownies happen to be oil free as an added bonus! They turned out super delicious all fudgy and intensely chocolaty just how I like them with crunchy pecans and rich dark chocolate chips!

I layered the brownies with my home made creamy rich maple pecan ice cream and some quick one minute caramel that I make often, plus the crunchy pecans and it was so heavenly! I am sure this is much better than that non vegan brownie sundae ever would have been!

Vegan Maple Pecan Brownie Sundaes

Vegan Maple Pecan Ice Cream

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 15 oz cans full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans, chopped lightly

1. To make the ice cream, combine all ingredients but the pecans in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour it into an ice cream maker and process according to the directions. (If you do not have an ice cream maker, alternatively, you may pour it into a bowl, place in the freezer and whisk every half hour until it becomes the consistency of thick malt and proceed with the recipe).
3. When it has finished, stir in the pecans, then pour into a freezer safe container with a lid and let chill and firm up a few hours more before serving.
4. Enjoy!

Vegan Pecan Brownies

Makes 16 regular sized brownies or 9 large ones

Brownies:

• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup pecan butter ( or smooth almond butter if you don't have pecan)
• 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
• 3 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water
• 1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips plus more for sprinkling on top
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, oil and 8x8 inch pan and line it with parchment.
2. Whisk together the sugar, apple sauce and almond butter until well combined and the sugar is starting to break down. Add the flax eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour, cacao powder and sea salt and beat until smooth.  Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle more chocolate chips over it.
4. Place in the oven, and Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until set (but do not over bake).
5. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, for the sundae recipe I cut them a little bigger than normal, 9 pieces instead of 16. But you can cut them the size you like.

For Sundae Assembly

Caramel and Pecans:

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup pecan butter (or almond butter if you don't have pecan butter)
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• filtered water as needed
• toasted pecans

Instructions:

1. To make the caramel, whisk together the maple syrup, pecan butter sea salt and vanilla until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of filtered water, plus more if it seems too thick. You want to be able to pour it but not have it too runny.
2. To assemble the sundae, place a brownie on a plate, then top it off with ice cream, the caramel and chopped pecans!
3. Enjoy!