Strawberry Brownies are fudgy chocolate brownies layered with creamy strawberry frosting and rich chocolate ganache. The brownie version of a chocolate covered strawberry!
Love brownies? Make sure to try my favorite Homemade Brownies Recipe!
Table of Contents
- Perfectly Sweet Homemade Strawberry Brownies!
- What Do Strawberry Brownies Taste Like?
- My Secret Ingredient:
- Recipe Ingredients:
- What Makes Brownies Fudgy or Cakey?
- Can You Add Fresh Strawberries To Brownie Mix?
- How To Store Strawberry Brownies:
- Can You Freeze These Brownies?
- Variations:
- Love Strawberry Desserts? Here Are A Few Recipes You Might Like:
- Get the Recipe
Perfectly Sweet Homemade Strawberry Brownies!
Talk about a pretty brownie!! These Strawberry Brownies are a gorgeous, show-stopping brownie recipe that pairs sweet strawberries with chocolate brownies.
Everyone loves chocolate covered strawberries, so what’s better than taking all those flavors and incorporating them in the prettiest brownie ever!
What Do Strawberry Brownies Taste Like?
I’ve seen Strawberry Brownies recipes before, but generally they are made with a strawberry cake mix, more like a cookie or cake bar than an actual brownie. I’ve even seen some made with strawberry jello, but that’s not my style. I wanted to make delicious brownies, good enough to eat on their own, and top it with a rich, strawberry buttercream frosting.
The sweetness of the strawberry frosting, paired with the chocolate brownie is a match made in dessert heaven. They’re the perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, or whenever you’re craving a sweet treat.
My Secret Ingredient:
Ok, this isn’t THAT secret, but it’s my trick when I make strawberry frosting. As much as I love fresh strawberries they have a lot of liquid in them naturally and can cause frosting to curdle slightly when added to butter. To avoid this I use a high quality strawberry jam in my icing instead. You get that perfectly sweet strawberry flavor without the extra moisture.
Alternatives:
- You can also use strawberry jelly or strawberry preserves if you wish. Note that jelly won’t have as much strawberry flavor as jam does, while preserves generally have larger pieces of fruit. If chunks don’t bother you preserves work great.
- Another alternative is using freeze-dried strawberries. You can find these pretty easily at the supermarket. In fact, I see them all the time at Trader Joes. Just pulverize the dried strawberries and mix those right into the frosting. This adds a powerful flavor pay-off.
Recipe Ingredients:
This recipe has three separate parts: the brownies, the frosting, and then the chocolate ganache layer.
Brownies:
- Butter. I use salted in this recipe, as you aren’t adding any more salt to the brownies.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder. You can use Dutch process, regular, or even dark cocoa powder. It’s up to you!
- Large eggs. I always use large eggs in my bakingrecipes. Egg size will make a difference, so make sure to use large.
- Vanilla Extract. The subtle vanilla flavor pairs with the chocolate beautifully.
- Granulated sugar. You could also use brown sugar, but granulated is recommended for this recipe.
- All purpose flour. No baking soda or baking powder is needed in this recipe. The brownies remain dense and fudgy without being cakey.
Strawberry Frosting:
- Butter. again, I use salted butter in the frosting since there is no other salt added.
- Powdered sugar/confectioners’ sugar. It’s the same, don’t worry!
- Strawberry jam. I explained more about this above, but you can also use strawberry preserves!
Chocolate Ganache:
- Heavy cream. You can’t sub in milk or half and half in this ganache recipe as it won’t firm up the same due to the lower fat content.
- Butter. Again, I use salted butter.
- Chocolate Chips or chopped chocolate. Use a nice chocolate here. A lot of chocolate chips have a slightly white, powdery looking coating. This is fine for cookies, but if you want a smooth chocolate ganache, high quality chocolate is best!
What Makes Brownies Fudgy or Cakey?
Fudgy brownies in general have a higher fat to flour ratio than cakey ones, like butter and chocolate not just cocoa powder. Cakey brownies have more flour and relies on baking powder/baking soda for leavening.
But for this brownie recipe I don’t call for baking soda or baking powder, but I also use cocoa powder…so what’s the deal? Don’t worry I use enough fat, to keep these dense. I wanted to create a super easy brownie recipe, without having to melt chocolate, keeping the recipe simple and quick, since you have to make frosting and ganache as well. Make sense?
Can You Add Fresh Strawberries To Brownie Mix?
Sure you can, but it isn’t my favorite way to enjoy the 2 flavors. I’ve tried them and have found that fresh strawberries in a brownie mix or even this homemade brownie recipe produces soggy sections of your brownie, without the flavor pay-off. I just don’t prefer the texture.
How To Store Strawberry Brownies:
It’s best to store these brownies in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can certainly enjoy them at room temperature, and even keep them on your counter…but I like the way they slice and taste when they’re chilled.
Can You Freeze These Brownies?
Absolutely! These freeze really well! You can freeze them sliced or in the pan covered airtight for up to 30 days for best freshness.
Variations:
Of course there are a few variations you can make to this recipe to get creative.Here are some ideas:
- Use any kind of berry or fruit you would like paired with chocolate. Any jam can be used in place of the strawberry jam. Raspberry Brownies would be so good!
- Add in some white chocolate chips, or even make the ganache on top white chocolate instead of chocolate.
- Make the frosting strawberry cream cheese frosting instead of strawberry buttercream. Use 1/4 cup of cream cheese + 1/4 cup butter + 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar + 1/4 cup of strawberry jam.
Love Strawberry Desserts? Here Are A Few Recipes You Might Like:
- Strawberry Sheet Cake
- 2 Ingredient Strawberry Fudge
- Strawberry Shortbread Bars
- Strawberry Pound Cake
- Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Strawberry Brownies
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 30 brownies 1x
- Category: Brownies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
Strawberry Brownies are like a chocolate covered strawberry! Fudgy brownies topped with creamy strawberry frosting and chocolate ganache!
Ingredients
Brownies:
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
Strawberry Filling:
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam
Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Brownies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In bowl of stand mixer combine melted butter and cocoa powder. Mix on medium speed until all lumps are gone.
- Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until thickened and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add in the sugar and mix until incorporated and finally add in flour and mix until combined.
- Spread in prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes until center is just set. Let cool completely.
- Strawberry Filling: In the bowl of your clean stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter and powdered sugar together until combined. Add in the strawberry jam and mix until smooth and creamy. Spread this on the cooled brownies and place in the refrigerator while preparing your ganache.
- Chocolate Ganache: In a microwave-safe bowl or in a saucepan, heat the heavy cream until steaming but not boiling.
- Place the butter and chocolate chips in a medium bowl and pour the hot cream on top of the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to sit in the hot cream for 3-4 minutes and then mix until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Remove the brownies from the refrigerator and pour the ganache on top of the strawberry filling. Use an offset spatula to spread the ganache to coat the filling.
- Cover and refrigerate until the ganache is set, about an hour.
- Cut into bars when ready to serve.
Notes
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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Can you use oil instead of butter?
You can yes.
Made this for Galentine’s get together and for work. The brownies didn’t survive either event, and a coworker asked for a tray just for hisself. Another great recipe
Taste awesome! Very easy to make and taste amazing! The brownie recipe was very easy, and the ganache tastes incredible! The strawberry frosting is super easy to make and tastes delicious too! Thanks for this great recipe!
Is this a recipe for which you prefer salted butter (for the brownies, the frosting, or both)?
I used salted 🙂
I should’ve known! 🙂
So I made these a couple of days ago and thought I would drop some notes.
Brownie layer is delicious and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Strawberry layer…well, it was delicious, but I don’t think it was strawberry-flavored enough. (I used Smucker’s Seedless Strawberry Jam.) The lack of strawberry flavor didn’t surprise me because you’re spreading 1/4 cup of jam over 117 square inches of brownie…so there ends up being VERY little strawberry jam in any given bite. And the ganache and brownie are so intensely chocolate-flavored that they really sort of submerge the gentle strawberry flavor. Next time, I may experiment and double the jam, and see if the filling still sets properly. Either that or maybe adding some strawberry extract to it.
The ganache layer was also delicious. I’ve made ganache many times before, and this struck me as very “thin” when it was first stirred together (although of course it thickened up a great deal as it set). It was very sticky even after chilling, so these were sort of messy to cut. Next time I may decrease the cream slightly, or increase the chocolate chips, so that it’s thicker to start with and perhaps less gooey.
But in summation, as my wife said, “There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with these brownies!”
If you can get your hands on some freeze dried strawberries and turn them into a powder using a food processor or blender. Then add it to the strawberry frosting. It should add some more strawberry flavor. You can find it at Trader Joe’s or online.
These look so delicious! What a cute Valentine’s inspired recipe. You’ve said the brownies are chewy, are they as fudgy as your fudgy brownies recipe? Thanks!