Name: Red Velvet Brownies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 120g (1/2 cup) Unsalted butter; 200g (1 cup) Granulated sugar; 2 Large eggs; 1/2 tsp Baking powder; 30g (1/4 cup) Cocoa powder; 80g (2/3 cup) All-purpose flour; 1 tsp Vanilla extract; A few drops of gel red food colouring, or 1 tsp liquid colouring; 225g (8 oz) Cream cheese, softened; 1 large egg; 50g (1/4 cup) Granulated sugar; 1 tsp Vanilla extract

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Fudgy red velvet brownies with a hint of cocoa topped with swirls of sweet and tangy cheesecake for the perfect slice!

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What is red velvet?
Ingredients
Frequently Asked Questions
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

What is red velvet?

Red velvet is originally a cake flavour, typically red or red-brown frosted with an ermine frosting. Ermine frosting is also known as cooked flour or boiled milk frosting, is a creamy frosting made from thickened milk custard and butter.

Over time the go-to frosting for red velvet cake has transitioned to cream cheese frosting, as it is easier to make and less finicky. Personally, I like cream cheese frosting better because of its tang, so I guess it's a good thing!

These brownies take the red velvet cake and make it into an easy dessert that can be held in one hand and eaten in a single bite!

Unlike a red velvet cake base, the red velvet brownie is deliciously fudgy. The frosting has been replaced with a creamy cheesecake swirl that is baked into the brownie, for contrasting creamy tangy that complements the brownies perfectly.

Ingredients

Brownies

Unsalted butter: Butter gives these brownies flavour, as well as a deliciously fudgy texture
Granulated sugar: The sugar adds lightness to the brownies, while also making them sweet. Reducing the sugar can give you a denser brownie. If you want a super fudgy brownies feel free to replace some of the granulated sugar with brown sugar.
Eggs: Eggs are the binding agent in these brownies, and holds everything together
Baking powder: Baking powder helps the brownies rise. Although these are quite fudgy, the baking powder gives them a little lightness, preventing them from baking up rock hard.

Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder gives these brownies their light chocolate flavour, as well as their colour. Cocoa powder is also important in giving these brownies a fudgy texture.
All-purpose flour: Flour also acts as a binding agent, while giving the brownies structure and foundation.
Red food colouring: I like to use a couple of drops of gel food colouring as it is so much stronger than regular water based food colouring. However, if you don't have gel food colouring ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of liquid red food colouring works too.

Cheesecake swirl

Cream cheese: Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature, this helps create a smoother batter that swirls easily through the red velvet batter. If you find the cream cheese too thick pop it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to soften it up.
Egg: The egg helps the cream cheese bake up to a cheesecake-like consistency, while also adding liquid to create a batter that swirls easily

Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness to your cheesecake!
Vanilla extract: You can never go wrong with a little vanilla extract, the vanilla here works perfectly with the cream cheese for a delicious vanilla cheesecake swirl.

Frequently Asked Questions

I prefer cakey brownies, can I make these less fudgy?

Yes, you definitely can. The trick to the fudginess in these brownies is the bake time, and the amount of cocoa powder.

To make these cakier I recommend reducing the cocoa powder to 3 tablespoon instead of ¼ cup, and increasing the bake time to closer to 30 minutes. The longer you bake your brownies, the drier they will be so make sure you keep an eye on them and don't overbake.

My brownies were dry, how do I fix this?

The biggest reason behind dry brownies is the bake time. If you overbake your brownies they will always be dry. The less you bake them, the fudgier they will be.

I like to take my brownies out when the toothpick emerges mostly clean, but with a few moist crumbs.

At this stage, they are firm enough to hold themselves together, but moist enough to have a good chew and fudginess to them.

Everybody's oven is different, and some will run faster than others, and some will run hotter. That's why it is important to focus on the visual cues, as well as their bake time. Keep an eye on them and keep checking their consistency from the 20 minute mark!

Can I make these without the cheesecake swirl?

You can make these without the cheesecake swirl, but I would recommend adding something else to replace it. Without the cheesecake swirl, the brownie is similar to a chocolate brownie, with an underwhelming chocolate flavour.

My go-to would be adding white chocolate chunks to the batter to make red velvet and white chocolate brownies, or frosting it with a cream cheese frosting for a frosted brownie. Feel free to play around with it!

How long do these last?

These last for 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. I wouldn't recommend storing these out at room temperature for more than a day as they are made with cream cheese.

Should I eat these at room temperature, or chilled from the fridge?

Personally, I like eating these straight from the fridge as this gives the brownies a fudgier texture and a deeper cheesecake flavour. However, if you are looking for a more decadent flavour and gooey texture try these at room temperature, or slightly warmed.

Let's Get Cooking

If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went. Also don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts so I can see and share your desserts.

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Red Velvet Brownies

What is red velvet?