preheat oven to 350 and grease a brownie pan. place about 10ish soft dates in a bowl with hot water and let soak for 10 minutes.
prepare flax egg: in a small bowl, mix 1 tbsp ground flax and 2 tbsp water, let sit for 10 min.

in a separate bowl mix:
– 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 2 tbsp maple syrup
– 1/3 cup @georgiagrinders maple caramel almond butter
– splash of vanilla

stir until smooth. then add the flax egg.

dump the water out of the date bowl and mash the dates with your hands or a fork (i used my hands and it worked fine!) add this mixture to the wet ingredients and stir thoroughly.

in a separate bowl mix:
– 1 1/2 cups almond flour
– pinch of sea salt, cinnamon, baking powder

pour wet into dry and stir until a smooth batter forms. pour into pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes.
meanwhile, make the frosting:

– 1/2 cup powdered sugar
– 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
– 2 tbsp almond milk
– 1 tbsp @georgiagrinders maple caramel almond butter

mix everything thoroughly (i did this by hand and took about 4 minutes) until thick and smooth. add more milk as needed. place in the fridge to thicken. once cake has cooled, spread icing on and slice.