Thousands of Home Bakers Are Making These Fudgy Protein Brownies Instead of Buying Store-Bought Desserts
From the Elisabeth Says Kitchen
See the Free Recipe ↓It Looks Like a Brownie From a Bakery Window
Thick swirled chocolate frosting on top. Clean square-cut edges all the way round.
Cut into one and the inside is dark, dense and seriously fudgy. It’s the kind of traybake that works with afternoon coffee or after dinner.
And it’s made with four everyday ingredients.
No packet, no mix and no long list of ingredients you can’t pronounce. Just pumpkin purée, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder and yogurt.
What People Are Saying
“About a week in, the cake from the shop tasted like syrup. I have not gone back to it since.”
“I had quietly given it up. Now the honey vanilla yogurt parfait is my after-dinner and I do not think twice.”
The Recipe, Step by Step
Ingredients
- Pumpkin purée
- Chocolate protein powder
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Thick dairy-free yogurt, for the frosting
Method
- Heat the oven and line a square pan with parchment.
- Stir the pumpkin purée, chocolate protein powder and cocoa powder together until smooth, with no dry patches.
- Spread into the pan and bake until the edges are set but the centre is still slightly soft.
- Cool completely. This one matters: yogurt frosting slides straight off a warm brownie.
- Stir the yogurt together with a little more protein powder, then spread it over the cooled brownies.
- Chill for 30 minutes, then cut into 9 squares.
Exact amounts, oven temperature and baking time are in the book.
Why These Brownies Turn Out Fudgy
Each ingredient has a job:
- Pumpkin puréeKeeps the brownie moist and dense. People keep guessing applesauce; it’s pumpkin.
- Chocolate protein powderStructural here, not an add-on. It does the job flour would normally do.
- Cocoa powderGives the deep, dark chocolate flavor.
- Thick yogurtStirred with a little protein powder, it becomes the frosting on top.
It’s a one-bowl traybake with no flour, no butter and no added sugar beyond whatever is in the protein powder.
Why More People Are Going Back to Simple Traybakes
Packaged desserts come with long ingredient lists. A homemade traybake comes with a short one you can read out loud.
That’s the appeal. You know what’s in it because you put it there, and you end up with something that tastes like it came from a real kitchen.
In Elisabeth’s Own Words
The recipe comes from Guilt-Free Treats, the dessert cookbook by Elisabeth Dunkins. Here is how she writes about this one in the book:
“People keep calling the orange layer applesauce. It is pumpkin.”
“The brownie itself is three things. The frosting is yogurt with a little protein powder stirred through, and it is optional.”
“Check your protein powder for added sweetener. Some are very sweet already and the brownies need nothing more.”Elisabeth Dunkins, Guilt-Free Treats (from the recipe and her tip)
What’s Inside Guilt-Free Treats
Over 100 recipes, organized into 10 chapters, so you can flip to whatever you’re in the mood for. A few of the chapters, with some of the recipes inside:
Chapter 1: No-Bake Treats
11 recipesBanana Peanut Butter Snickers, Avocado Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Greek Yogurt Ice Cream
Chapter 2: Cookies & Bars
12 recipesBanana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies, Date Oat Energy Bars, Healthy Apple Crumble Bars
Chapter 3: Muffins for Every Occasion
14 recipesApple Cinnamon Muffins, Blueberry Banana Muffins, Zucchini Walnut Muffins
Chapter 4: Cakes & Loaves
23 recipesStrawberry Yogurt Cake, Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake, Orange Olive Oil Cake
Chapter 5: Chocolate & Date Bakes
7 recipesChocolate Banana Brownies, Date Sweetened Chocolate Cake, Date Pecan Brownies
Chapter 6: Mornings in Elisabeth's Kitchen
8 recipesBanana Pancakes, Homemade Granola, Overnight Apple Cinnamon
Chapter 7: Holiday & Seasonal Treats
10 recipesPumpkin Spice Loaf, Gingerbread Date Bites, Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
How Every Recipe Is Laid Out
- The basics up topHow many it makes, one portion, and how long it keeps.
- Ingredients firstListed in cups and tablespoons, nothing hard to find.
- Step-by-step instructionsNumbered and written out in full, with no shortcuts.
- Elisabeth’s noteA tip at the end of the recipe.
- Substitution notesOn most recipes, so you can swap what you don’t have.
Here is what a recipe page looks like:
Get the Bread Book FREE When You Order the Guilt-Free Treats Hardcover
Here’s how it works. The Guilt-Free Treats hardcover, with 100+ desserts, is delivered to your door. The bread book, 100 Guilt-Free Bread Recipes, comes with it as a digital edition and is emailed to you automatically.
200+ recipes. One payment. No subscription. No membership.
Get My Hardcover + FREE Bread Book →The free bread book is digital and comes with the hardcover only. It’s emailed to you automatically.
Only want the digital edition? Get it here Only want the bread book? Get the digital edition for $39The Free Bread Book
100 Guilt-Free Bread Recipes covers everyday loaves, rolls and buns, flatbreads, wraps, bagels, sweet fruit loaves and more. None of them ask you to wait around for dough to rise.
Everyday Loaves & Toasting Breads
14 recipesBuns, Rolls & Sandwich Breads
12 recipesFlatbreads, Naan & Pitas
12 recipesWraps & Tortillas
8 recipesBagels & Breakfast Breads
10 recipesSweet Breads & Fruit Loaves
16 recipesHigh-Protein Favorites
8 recipesFlourless & Gluten-Free-Friendly Breads
10 recipesFocaccia, Pizza Breads & Savory Specials
10 recipes“Will It Actually Taste Good?”
That’s the whole point. Dark and fudgy inside, soft frosting on top, the way a good homemade brownie should taste.
“I'll be honest, I almost didn't buy this. I've tried 'healthy dessert' books before and they always taste like cardboard, or they need seventeen ingredients I've never heard of. This is different. The banana peanut butter mousse tasted like an actual dessert, not a diet substitute.”
“When I saw a recipe for Avocado Chocolate Mousse, I thought, 'Ridiculous. Avocado belongs in salad, not dessert.' I braced myself for a grassy mess, but you genuinely cannot taste the avocado—it's just incredibly rich, silky chocolate.”
“I’m Not a Good Baker”
The book is written for exactly that reader. For most recipes you need a bowl, a fork and an oven. Every step is written out in full, with no shortcuts and no assumed knowledge, and each recipe ends with a note from Elisabeth.
“I've made eight recipes so far and haven't had a single flop. That never happens with these dessert books.”
“I Won’t Be Able to Find the Ingredients”
You will. The recipes are built around everyday ingredients from a regular grocery store. For this traybake that’s pumpkin purée, chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder and yogurt.
“Applesauce, banana, oats, yogurt. Nothing rare, nothing wasted, and every bake has worked.”
“Is This Legit?”
Guilt-Free Treats and 100 Guilt-Free Bread Recipes are Elisabeth Dunkins’s own cookbooks, sold directly by Elisabeth Says.
900,000+ followers on Instagram and 50,000+ orders across all channels
Secure checkout · Real support team · 30-day money-back guarantee
Questions? Email elisabeth@elisabethsays.com
“Elisabeth writes every recipe like she's standing right next to you in the kitchen. Nothing complicated, nothing wasted.”
“Is the Bread Book Really Free?”
Yes. It comes with every hardcover order and is emailed to you automatically. The free bread book is digital and comes with the hardcover only.
Get My Hardcover + FREE Bread Book →Quick Answers
How do I get the digital book?
It’s emailed to you automatically with your hardcover order, and you can read it on any device.
Can I print it?
Yes. The digital books are yours to print at home.
How long does the hardcover take to arrive?
Printed books are made to order and shipped free. You'll get a tracking email as soon as your book ships.
Is there a subscription?
No. It’s one payment. No subscription and no membership.
Are there gluten-free or dairy-free versions?
Some recipes include simple ingredient swaps, and Elisabeth also has separate gluten-free and dairy-free dessert books. If you have a medical need, please check each recipe and the specific ingredients you buy.
Do I need special ingredients?
No. Most recipes use everyday ingredients you can find at a regular grocery store.
What if I don’t like it?
You’re covered by our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Is the bread book really free?
Yes. It comes with every hardcover order and is emailed to you automatically.
30-day money-back guarantee
