Red Velvet Brownies combine the flavors of vanilla and chocolate in these chewy and gooey red velvet brownies with cream cheese frosting. These brownies are based on the classic red velvet cake recipe but made into a gooey brownie.
If you're a fan of blondies and brownies then these red velvet brownies with cream cheese is the recipe for you! These combine the flavours of a classic red velvet cake with cream cheese icing with the ultimate fudgy brownie texture.
This red velvet brownies recipe is shockingly easy and perfect for a Valentines day treat with your special someone or to serve at friends get together.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The texture is that of a brownie - while these are based on a cake, the texture of these remain like a brownie. Soft and fudgy.
- The cheesecake marble - the cream cheese frosting or 'cheesecake' is marbled through the brownies which brings a sweetness to the rich brownie and balances the flavors. If you like a red velvet cheesecake cake, you will love the flavors of this recipe.
- They are still a chocolate brownie - the red velvet brownies contain more cocoa than most other red velvet recipes, like my Nutella red velvet cookie pie, for more of a chocolate flavour due to these being brownies.
Ingredients Needed
- Cream cheese - Be sure to use a full-fat cream cheese and not a low-fat or spreadable cream cheese. These tend to result in the cream cheese frosting not setting properly in which case, you will have a runny middle.
- Red food colouring - I personally use a liquid red food colouring but you can use a red food colouring gel and just add around 1-2 teaspoons of the paste as food colouring gel is generally more concentrated.
- Cocoa powder - this recipe uses regular cocoa powder. Do not use a Dutch processed cocoa powder as this will alter the texture of the brownies and the taste.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Red Velvet Brownies Step-By-Step
Step 1: Melt the butter and mix with the sugar.
Step 2: Add in the vanilla extract, red food coloring and eggs and mix through.
Step 3: Stir in the flour and cocoa powder (sift the cocoa if your cocoa powder is lumpy). Finally stir through the vinegar.
Step 4: Pour the brownie batter into a prepared 9" square baking pan and set aside.
Step 5: Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
Step 6: Add in the egg, vanilla and icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Step 7: Dollop the cream cheese frosting over the brownie batter and swirl this through with a toothpick or the edge of a knife.
Step 8: Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes and all to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Recipe FAQs
Red velvet is a fine balance between chocolate and vanilla. Traditionally, red velvet also has the addition of buttermilk and white vinegar to give the cake a tart edge. I use white vinegar in these brownies to bring in a touch of tartness.
These brownies remain fudgy like a brownie due to the fat to flour ratio. There is far less flour in these brownies than a cake which means the fat from the butter and eggs create that fudgy, brownie texture.
Red velvet brownies can be stroed in an airtight container in the fridge for up a week for best results as these brownies contain a cheesecake marble.
Other Red Velvet Recipes to Try
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Red Velvet Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ Cup Butter, Melted (150g)
- 1 Cup Sugar (200g)
- 2 Medium Eggs
- 1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
- ¼ Cup Cocoa (24g)
- 1 Tbsp. Red Food Coloring
- ⅔ Cups All Purpose Flour (90g)
- 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
Cheesecake Swirl
- 1 Cup Cream Cheese, Softened (250g)
- ⅓ Cup Butter, Softened (75g)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ Cup Icing Sugar (60g)
- 1 Medium Egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and line a 9"x9" baking tin with baking paper.
- Place the sugar and melted butter in a bowl and mix together.
- Add in the vanilla extract, red food coloring and eggs and beat together.
- Add in the cocoa and all purpose flour and fold them through.
- Lightly fold in the white vinegar and then pour into the prepared pan and set aside to make the cheesecake filling.
- Beat the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, egg and vanilla extract together until smooth.
- Pour over the cheesecake mixture and using the end of a knife, swirl that through the red velvet brownies and then place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. The outside will be set and the middle will have a slight jiggle.
- Allow them to cool completely before slicing and then store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
Video
Notes
- If you are using red food coloring gel, use around 1 teaspoon and see how red this is. You may need to increase to up to 2 teaspoons but add this slowly as the gel is much more concentrated than liquid food coloring.
- If your cocoa is lumpy, sift this into the brownie batter to avoid lumps throughout.
- In the video, we sliced the brownie into a heart for Valentines day. To do this, I sliced this into 16 regular pieces and then carved a heart out of these so there were still individual pieces (albeit some odd shaped pieces)!
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