Birthday Cake Brownies that are actually healthy? Yes! These brownies are made with cashew butter, eggs and coconut sugar and are gluten free, dairy free and Paleo-friendly.
Recipe originally posted: May 2015 // Updated: March 2020
Gosh I love these brownies so much and I know you will too. I originally made them in 2015 for my brother’s birthday, mostly to celebrate his love of cashew butter. Though they’re called “birthday cake brownies”, a better title would probably be cashew butter blondies because that’s the main ingredient.
Since I selfishly wanted to eat these myself, I chose not to add chocolate, but I promise adding chocolate will take these to the next level! As far as desserts go, these brownies are pretty much as guilt-free as they get, making them a perfect after dinner treat.
Why You’ll Love These Birthday Cake Brownies
- They’re actually GOOD for you because they’re made with cashew butter (healthy fats) and coconut sugar
- These brownies are ready in just 30 minutes
- They’re filled with sprinkles and you have the option to add chocolate chips to them as well
How To Make Birthday Cake Brownies
Whisk the wet ingredients: In this case, the wet ingredients are the eggs, cashew butter and vanilla extract. Since these brownies are gluten free, you don’t need to bust out your stand or electric mixer. Instead, simply stir everything gently by hand.
Add the dry ingredients: Once the wet ingredients are mixed, fold in the baking soda, baking powder and coconut sugar (see substitutions below if you don’t have coconut sugar!).
Add-ins: Last, stir in the “add-ins”, aka the sprinkles and/or chocolate chips. These are what gives these brownies a little “oomph”, so I do recommend adding at least one or the other, if not both.
Ingredient Substitutions
I’ll admit that I haven’t tested these birthday cake brownies any other way than the written recipe states. However, I’m going to add a few substitutions that I think would work well:
Nut butter: The recipe calls for cashew butter, but I think almond butter and *some* peanut butters would work just fine. Cashew butter and almond butter tend to be on the runnier side (vs. super thick), so if you do want to try using peanut butter, opt for a brand where the only ingredient is peanuts.
Sugar: I love coconut sugar for many reasons, with one of those reasons being because you can use it interchangeably with refined sugar or cane sugar. If you happen to have those in your pantry instead, feel free to use them in this recipe.
Chocolate: This is sort of a no-brainer, but if you prefer using chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips, go for it!
I have NOT tested these with flax eggs so I’m not sure if that would work, but if you do try it, please let me know!
More Healthy Dessert Recipes
- The BEST Paleo Brownies
- No Bake Cheesecake
- Flourless Sweet Potato Brownies
- Peanut Butter Fudge (dairy free)
Healthy Birthday Cake Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup cashew butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp sprinkles
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Whisk cashew butter, eggs and vanilla together; then, stir in the baking powder, baking soda and coconut sugar. Last, add the sprinkles and (optional) chocolate chips.
- Grease an 8x8 baking pan with nonstick spray, or line it with parchment paper. Scoop batter into the pan, using a spatula to smooth it out.
- Bake brownies for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait at least 15 minutes for them to cool before cutting. Enjoy!
Notes
hey erin! i’ve followed your blog for a long while now, but never commented. i just wanted to say i made these brownies, but used almond butter as i had it on hand, and they were so.good.!!! I actual ended up adapting your recipe to make a sunflower seed butter blondie thing~~ also featuring rainbow sprinkles, of course. 🙂
Ahh I love that!! Glad it worked out and thanks for the comment 🙂
My brownies cooked up to be a bit more fluffy then the ones I see pictured of yours…… Although still delicious. Do you think it may be because I made the cashew butter an hour ahead of time? Also I didn’t use wax paper.
Thanks for the recipe…I’m trying to eat healthier and this showed up at the right time!
these look amazing..i think i’ll be trying these this week! where do you usually get your cashew butter at? or do you make your own?
I usually get mine from Trader Joe’s, but homemade would work too!
Hi. Can I use sunbutter in place of cashew butter, and maybe honey for the sweetener?
Though I haven’t tried it myself, you can most likely sub sun butter for cashew butter because they are similar in consistency. However, I’m not sure honey would work because it may make the dough too runny. Let me know if you try it and if they turn out!
Great! Thank you so much for your quick reply! 🙂
Can I make my own cashew butter using Raw cashews? Will it still taste ok and I could just add some salt if needed?
Yes you can use your own! I’d recommend adding a bit of salt for sure, but it’s honestly up to you.
I made this for a birthday party I hosted where all the foods were vegan. Deeeeelicious was the outcome! Everyone enjoyed it. It’s like a chocolate chip cookie cake and the cashew butter really gave it that something extra.
Slight alteration: I supplanted the sprinkles for additional chocolate chips and coconut sugar.
I’m so glad everyone liked them! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
these look SO yummy! sprinkles always make everything more fun and taste better because nothing is better than fun food! 😉 pinned!
It’s crazy how there is no flour or anything in this recipe, yet it looks like it is made with flour! I think I will make these for a friend’s birthday that’s this coming weekend!! Sadly, I won’t be able to eat them, but… I think they’ll be a hit!
Aww, happy birthday to your brother! Favourite butter: old fashioned peanut butter.
A weird fact about my brother: he’s obsessed with Monster Energy drinks – he drinks them all the time. A few years ago (2 years ago, maybe?) I made him a Monster birthday cake that had Monster in the cake batter as well as the frosting. It was actually really good.
AWWWW thanks BIG-E!!! That was very nice!!