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Home » Recipes » Dairy Free

Healthy Birthday Cake Brownies

By Erin · March 6, 2021 · Updated September 26, 2021 · 18 Comments

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brownies with sprinkles

Birthday Cake Brownies that are actually healthy? Yes! These flourless brownies are made with cashew butter, eggs and coconut sugar and are gluten free, dairy free and Paleo-friendly.

brownie with sprinkles on a table

Gosh I love these birthday cake 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 I originally made them in 2015 for my brother's birthday, mostly to celebrate his love of cashew butter.

See, I adore making recipes with nut butter, like my peanut butter fudge and my flourless almond butter chocolate chip cookies. These brownies use nut butter as the main ingredient instead of flour, making it a little too easy to devour the whole pan.

Recipe features

  • Use nut butter as a base instead of flour (kind of like these healthy peanut butter balls)
  • These brownies are ready in just 30 minutes
  • Filled with sprinkles, but you could also add chocolate chips
  • They're flourless, making them naturally gluten free and Paleo-friendly, with the option to make them vegan as well!

ingredients to make blondies

Ingredient notes:

Nut butter: The recipe calls for cashew butter, but I think almond butter and *some* peanut butters would work just fine. If you want to try using peanut butter, opt for a brand where the only ingredient is peanuts, or peanuts and salt (you don't want it to be too thick).

Sugar: I love coconut sugar for many reasons, one 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.

Maple syrup: I love the addition of maple syrup -- it pairs perfectly with nut butter -- but if you're looking to cut back on sugar, you can omit the syrup.

Eggs: Since this is a flourless recipe, the eggs act as a binder and hold everything together. BUT, I did test the recipe using flax eggs and it turns out pretty well. See the "tips" section below if you want to make these vegan-friendly.

Sprinkles: Every "birthday cake" flavored recipe needs sprinkles, but if you want to take these up a notch, you can definitely add chocolate chips as well.

How to make birthday cake brownies

Step 1: Whisk the wet ingredients. In this case, the wet ingredients are the eggs, cashew butter, maple syrup, 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 with a rubber spatula.

Step 2: Add the dry ingredients. Once the wet ingredients are mixed, fold in the baking soda, baking powder and coconut sugar.

blondie batter in a large glass bowl

Step 3: 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.

Step 4: Bake. Bake the brownies for 25 minutes (unless you're making them vegan, then bake for 30 minutes). Wait for the brownies to cool completely before slicing them!

brownie batter in a baking pan

Tips and tricks

-Don't over-mix the batter -- stir gently by hand until everything is incorporated, then transfer it to the baking pan.

-Make sure to grease the baking pan with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper.

-Wait until the bars are completely cooled before cutting them. Since they're flourless, they're more fragile than most brownies and will fall apart if you cut them while they're warm.

Do I have to use cashew butter?

Nope! Any nut butter will work. Cashew butter makes these taste the most similar to birthday cake, but I've made them with peanut butter and they're still delicious.

What's the best way to make these gluten free and vegan?

To make these brownies vegan, you'll want to use 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 5 tablespoon water), and bake them for 30 minutes. Then, once they've cooled, store them in the refrigerator instead of at room temperature, which will help them stay together better.

How should these be stored?

Store brownies in a container (I just kept them in the 8x8 baking dish, and covered it with a lid) either at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

a stack of brownies with sprinkles

More healthy dessert recipes

  • The BEST Paleo Brownies
  • No Bake Cheesecake
  • Flourless Sweet Potato Brownies
  • Peanut Butter Fudge (dairy free)

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

brownie with sprinkles on a table

Healthy Birthday Cake Brownies

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.
5 from 9 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 16 brownies
Author: Erin

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cup cashew butter (12 oz.)
  • 2 eggs see notes
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup sprinkles

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Whisk cashew butter, eggs, syrup and vanilla together; then, stir in the baking powder, baking soda and coconut sugar. Last, add the sprinkles.
  • 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 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait for the bars to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

*Calories are per brownie and are an estimation
*To make vegan: sub 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 5 tablespoon water) and bake the bars for 30 minutes
*If you want, you can also add ¼ cup chocolate chips to the batter 
*Storage: store bars in a sealed container either at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days

Nutrition

Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in May 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in March 2021.

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Vegan Shakshuka »

About Erin

Erin is the recipe developer, writer and photographer behind the healthy food blog, The Almond Eater. She's been blogging since 2014 and loves to create food for many different diets, including vegan, gluten free and/or Whole30 recipes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Risa Newell says

    May 08, 2021 at 5:39 pm

    5 stars
    I just made these today for my big bro. He is my twin and today is our birthday and he loved them! I am so happy that I could make this on such a special day, Thank you so much for your delicious shares! He and I turned 13 I FEEL SO OLD!!! lol🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣! Have a good day y'all! 🤯❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏

    Reply
  2. Daniel Z says

    September 01, 2020 at 5:16 pm

    5 stars
    Birthday cake + brownies!!! Yum!!!

    Reply
  3. meg says

    March 03, 2019 at 6:38 pm

    5 stars
    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. 🙂

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 04, 2019 at 7:41 am

      Ahh I love that!! Glad it worked out and thanks for the comment 🙂

      Reply
  4. SheReese says

    May 01, 2017 at 4:42 pm

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  5. marti says

    April 30, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 30, 2016 at 8:18 pm

      I usually get mine from Trader Joe's, but homemade would work too!

      Reply
  6. amy says

    November 23, 2015 at 11:24 am

    Hi. Can I use sunbutter in place of cashew butter, and maybe honey for the sweetener?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 23, 2015 at 11:28 am

      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!

      Reply
      • amy says

        November 23, 2015 at 11:31 am

        Great! Thank you so much for your quick reply! 🙂

  7. Laura says

    October 01, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    Can I make my own cashew butter using Raw cashews? Will it still taste ok and I could just add some salt if needed?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      October 01, 2015 at 7:46 pm

      Yes you can use your own! I'd recommend adding a bit of salt for sure, but it's honestly up to you.

      Reply
  8. Sonia K. says

    September 28, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      September 28, 2015 at 8:16 pm

      I'm so glad everyone liked them! Thanks for the feedback 🙂

      Reply
  9. Michele @ Two Raspberries says

    May 27, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    these look SO yummy! sprinkles always make everything more fun and taste better because nothing is better than fun food! 😉 pinned!

    Reply
  10. GiGi Eats says

    May 24, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  11. Sam @ Better With Sprinkles says

    May 24, 2015 at 7:17 pm

    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.

    Reply
  12. Justin Druga says

    May 24, 2015 at 9:32 am

    AWWWW thanks BIG-E!!! That was very nice!!

    Reply

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