Christmas Tree Brownies Recipe

A yummy fudgy brownie topped with smooth vanilla buttercream and plenty of sprinkles!

These Christmas tree decorated brownies are super simple to make and you could decorate them in so many different ways! If piping the buttercream seems to scary, you could just use a butter knife or palette knife to smooth the topping on instead.

These brownies will last up to a week stored in a food container somewhere cold and dry or you can freeze them for longer.

Makes 8 triangle brownies

Brownie ingredients;                   

195g plain flour

320g caster or granulated sugar

70g cocoa powder

180g melted vegan butter

180g dark chocolate chips

200g melted dark chocolate

280g boiling water

Buttercream topping ingredients;

300g icing sugar

125g vegan butter

½ tsp vanilla powder

1-2 tsp plant milk - if needed

Sprinkles, food colouring or any other decorations you would like

You will also need; an 8" circular baking tin, baking paper, a mixing bowl, a spoon, a whisk, a sieve, electric hand mixer, piping bag, piping nozzles, sharp knife

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Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 160°c

2. Line your baking tin with baking paper, this will make sure your brownie does not stick to the tin

3. Begin by making your brownie.  Add the sugar, melted vegetable spread, melted dark chocolate to a bowl and lightly mix together

4. Add the boiling water over the chocolatey sugar mixture in your bowl and whisk together until you have a chocolate syrup mixture

5. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and mix well using the whisk so there are no flour lumps

6. Add the dark chocolate chips and mix once again

7. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and smooth out with the back of a spoon

8. Bake at 160°c for 20-30 minutes.  The brownie is baked when the edges are firm but there is still a slight jiggle to the middle of the tin

9. Leave the brownie to cool in the tin on the side and then transfer into the fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight until fully cold and set

10. Make your buttercream topping.  In a mixing bowl, add the vegan butter and whip until fluffy using the electric hand mixer

11. Add the icing sugar and vanilla powder and mix again until smooth, light and creamy

12. If the buttercream feels too stiff, add 1 tsp of plant milk and mix again

13. If you would like to colour your buttercream, divide the buttercream mixture into small bowls and mix in a tiny drop of food colouring

14. Take your cold brownie out of the fridge and remove from the tin. Using the sharp knife cut your brownie in half and then cut each half to make 8 small triangles altogether

15. If piping, add the buttercream to the piping bag and pipe a decorative pattern on each triangle brownie to make it look like a fancy Christmas tree. Alternatively, you could just use a butter or palette knife to smooth the buttercream on top

16. Finish by piping small bows, adding vegan sprinkles, edible glitter or any other decorations you would like

17. Eat and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks!

• I always use Moo Free chocolate. You can buy bulk 2kg boxes from Coco's Pantry, who have lots of vegan baking ingredients

• Chill your brownie before cutting! This not only improves the texture, but if you try to cut a warm brownie it's just going to crumble because of all the hot melty chocolate

• I used a Wilton 4B nozzle for the pink ombre scallop effect and a small petal nozzle to pipe the little bows

• I use Rainbow Dust Progel colours which are all vegan!