Gluten-Free Vegan Peanut Butter Brownie Mini Trifles
My Peanut Butter Brownie Mini Trifles is an easy recipe made with clean, real food ingredients. It's a plant-based makeover of a popular trifle recipe that is made without eggs, butter, dairy, oil, or flour and is ready to enjoy in about 30 minutes!{ Plant-Based | Vegan | Gluten-Free | Dairy-Free | Soy-Free | Egg-Free | Oil-Free | Grain-Free | Flourless | No Refined Sugar }
Advanced Preparation: Add a 13.5-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk to the back of your refrigerator at least overnight to harden the coconut fat before adding it to recipe for the whipped topping.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare an 8 x 8 baking dish lined with parchment paper, then set aside.
Prepare the flax egg:
Add the ingredients for the flax egg to a small bowl and whisk together until well combined.
Prepare the brownies:
Add all ingredients for the brownies to a medium-size mixing bowl, re-whisk the flax egg and add it to the mixing bowl, then stir everything together until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly into the dish.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until completely cooked.
Allow the brownies to cool completely before adding to the trifle.
Prepare the pudding:
While the brownies are baking, add all ingredients for the pudding to a Vitamix and blend until creamy and smooth.
Taste and adjust the sweetener to your preference, then set aside.
Prepare the whipped topping:
Remove the hardened fat from the refrigerated can of coconut milk and add it to a stand mixer bowl along with the remaining ingredients.
Mix on HIGH speed with a wire whip attachment until the mixture forms a peak and has the consistency of whipped cream.
Assembly:
The number of mini trifles you make depends on the size of the dessert glass you are using. For example, 2-ounce, 4-ounce, 8-ounce, etc. The assembly directions below are for 2-ounce servings. You will need to increase the number of tablespoons of each ingredient in each layer if you are using a 4-ounce or 8-ounce dessert glass.
My suggested order of assembly starting with the bottom layer is: Brownies --> Pudding --> Brownies --> Pudding --> Whipped Cream --> Optional Fresh Fruit Garnish
Take 1-2 tablespoons of the brownies and crumble them into the bottom of each dessert glass.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of the chocolate pudding and add on top of the crumbled brownies.
Add another 1-2 tablespoons of the brownies and crumble them on top of the chocolate pudding.
Add another 1-2 tablespoons of the chocolate pudding and add on top of the crumbled brownies.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of the whipped coconut cream topping on top of the crumbled brownies.
Optional: garnish with fresh organic raspberries or organic strawberries, if desired.
Notes
Peanut Butter: You could substitute with another nut butter such as almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or cashew butter.Cacao Powder: Can be substituted with regular cocoa powder.Maple Syrup: Feel free to adjust the amount of maple syrup in the pudding recipe if you'd like it a little sweeter.Avocados: The best avocados to use for this recipe are soft + ripe ones. I used (3) small avocados that were about 3-inches long with 1 1/2 inch seeds.Coconut Milk: Make sure you use "full-fat" coconut milk in a can and not "light" coconut milk or boxed coconut milk. Also, after it's been refrigerated overnight, you will only use the hardened fat part of the coconut milk, and not the liquid coconut water. You can always save that to use in a smoothie.Vanilla Extract: This could be substituted with alcohol-free vanilla extract or organic vanilla bean powder. However, if you use vanilla bean powder in the whipped topping, the color will be a little darker than a pure white color.Unrefined Granular Sweetener: Most white sugar is not vegan because it's been whitened with animal bone char. The only brand I will use is 100% vegan and not made with animal bone char.Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.Serving Dishes: I like to use either of these cute individual mini glass dessert dishes which is perfect for an individual serving.
However, feel free to use your favorite glasses and make the serving size to your preference. Simply divide the brownie, pudding, and whipped topping equally between your serving dishes.Serving Size: This recipe will make a total of (2) cups or (16 ounces) of trifle. Nutritional information is for (2) ounces of trifle which is (1) serving.