Red Velvet Brownies

These rich and fudgy Red Velvet Brownies are so decadent and delicious. They have the perfect crinkly top with a fudgy interior, a stunning deep red color, and are drizzled with a tangy cream cheese glaze. The perfect treat for Valentine's Day or anytime you're craving something extra delicious!

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Cooling time1

Total Time2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 250kcal

Author: Briana

Equipment

8x8 baking pan
electric hand mixer (could use a whisk or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment)

Ingredients

Red velvet brownie batter

1 cup unsalted butter 226g or 2 sticks
½ cup + 1 tablespoon chocolate chips 100g can sub chopped chocolate bar (use bittersweet or dark)
⅓ cup cocoa powder 30g (Dutch processed cocoa powder is preferred)
½ cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar 125g
½ cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 125g
2 large eggs room temperature
1 large egg yolk room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-3 teaspoons red gel food coloring as needed to achieve the color you want
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar substitute white vinegar
¾ cup all purpose flour 90g
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cream cheese glaze (optional)

2 ounces cream cheese softened
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1.5 - 2 tablespoons milk or cream as needed
1.5 - 2 tablespoons powdered sugar to taste
Sprinkles for decorating optional

Instructions

Red velvet brownies

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 pan and line with parchment. Set aside.
Start by adding 2 sticks of unsalted butter to a heavy bottomed saucepan. Melt it over medium heat. If you want, continue heating it until the butter has browned. Here's our guide for how to brown butter for step-by-step instructions! The key is, no matter if you're browning the butter or not, the butter needs to be hot enough to melt the chocolate easily!
After the butter is nice and hot (and potentially browned) remove the saucepan from the heat and add in 30g of cocoa powder and 100g of chocolate chips or chocolate pieces. Keep mixing everything together with a rubber spatula to melt the chocolate and combine everything until smooth. Once combined, remove from the saucepan and place in a separate container to cool.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together the eggs, the egg yolk, 125g of white sugar, and 125g of light brown sugar until pale and fluffy. This will take 3-4 minutes.
Once the chocolate has cooled down, stream it in slowly to the egg and sugar mixture while using the hand mixer on medium speed to incorporate it. Be sure to scrape the bowl a few times with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is incorporated.
Next, add in 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, and 2-3 teaspoons of red gel food coloring to achieve the desired color. Mix on medium speed until completely combined.
Now, slowly sift in ¾ cup of all purpose flour and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to the wet ingredients. Mix the batter on low speed with the electric mixer to incorporate gently. Once almost all the way mixed, switch to a rubber spatula to ensure you don't overmix the brownies at this stage. Scrape the bowl and make sure everything is completely incorporated.
Transfer to your prepared baking pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes(for us, 35 minutes is about perfect), until the top is set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Don't overbake! The brownies will continue to bake in the hot pan as they cool.
Set the pan on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting into them.

Cream cheese icing (optional)

Meanwhile, while the brownies cool, make the icing. In a mixing bowl, add 2 ounces of softened cream cheese, ½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or extract, and 1.5 - 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar (to taste). Using your hand mixer, mix until well combined and there are no lumps. Be sure the scape the sides of the bowl a few times to ensure everything is incorporated.
Now, slowly stream in milk while mixing to reach your desired consistency. Start with 1 tablespoon, and then add more as needed.
Once the brownies are completely cool, drizzle the icing overtop of them, add sprinkles if desired. Serve, and enjoy!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If the brownies don't have any icing on them, they can be stored at room temperature.

Notes

Use high-quality ingredients. Opt for the highest quality chocolate, cocoa powder, and butter that you can for the best flavor. This recipe is made with just a handful of ingredients so they all have a big impact on the final result!

Use a kitchen scale for best results. Accurate measurement of ingredients is crucial for the best result. Too much flour can result in dry, or cakey brownies, which is not the result we're going for! Using a kitchen scale ensures correct measurements, and this is especially important for ingredients like flour, cocoa powder, and sugar.

Use room temperature ingredients. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before mixing them into the batter. If they are too cold, it can cause the batter to seize. This is also true for the cream cheese icing ingredients. They will all come together much easier if they are room temperature!

Take your time to incorporate the eggs and sugars. This is the one stage where mixing a lot is actually encouraged. When combining the eggs and sugars, we want to mix until the sugar is at least mostly dissolved. This is what gives us that incredible shiny and crackly top on the brownies!

Allow the butter and chocolate mixture to cool off before adding it to the batter. When combining the cocoa powder, hot butter, and chocolate chips, the mixture will become very hot. It will need some time to cool down so that you don't accidentally scramble the eggs when they're added!

Don't overmix the dry ingredients. When mixing the batter, avoid overmixing once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Overmixing at this stage can lead to dense and tough brownies. Mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated to achieve a tender and fudgy texture. This is why we like to switch to a rubber spatula at this stage.

Grease and line the baking pan. Grease the baking pan and line it with parchment paper to make sure nothing sticks.

Monitor baking time. Keep an eye on the brownies as they bake and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the brownies. The toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs attached, but not wet batter. Avoid overbaking to prevent dry brownies, they will continue baking from the residual heat in the pan!

Cool the brownies completely before cutting. Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan before cutting into them. This allows the brownies to set and ensures clean edges when slicing. Because we like to underbake our brownies a little bit for a very fudgy result, they need time to cool to finish baking in the hot pan.

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