I promise you this:
- I will never stop playing around with recipes for brownies.
Now how’s that for a conviction?
Those who are near and dear to me know that my principles regarding chocolate and brownies are firmly committed. Infallible. Some might even say absurd. (I must never be without a hidden stash of brownies in the freezer.)
But wouldn’t you like to have a few of these Chocolate Cordial Brownies tucked away in your freezer right now?!
These brownies, with their contrasting chocolate and cherry layers, are both pretty and playful. When biting through that thin layer of chocolate glaze over the top, to reach the creamy cherry buttercream, it truly reminds me of sinking my teeth into a sweet cherry cordial. (My aunt Patsy makes the best homemade cherry cordials ever!)
You already know how much I love the chocolate and cherry combination:
So it should come as no surprise how much I adore these Chocolate Cordial Brownies, too. The brownie base is moist and fudgy, absolute perfection. It could easily stand on its own. But when tempted by a pretty-in-pink maraschino cherry buttercream and a glazing of dark chocolate…why would it ever want to?
Chocolate Cherry Cordial Brownies
Ingredients
Brownie Base:
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate bar, roughly chopped (I use Baker's brand)
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Cherry Buttercream:
- ¼ cup minced maraschino cherries
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
Chocolate Glaze:
- 5 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, roughly chopped (I use Bakers brand)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9″x13″ baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Brownie Base: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt chocolate and butter together, stirring regularly and taking care to not let it scorch. Remove saucepan from heat.
- Add brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla to the melted chocolate and blend well. Then add flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir to combine.
- Spread brownie batter in prepared pan, in an even layer. Bake for about 22 minutes, or until toothpick just barely comes clean. For a dense, fudgy brownie, take care to not over bake. Let cool completely.
- Cherry Buttercream: Place the minced cherries between two paper towels and lightly press, to extract excess juice. This ensures that the buttercream won't have too much liquid. You will need ¼ cup of minced and "dried" cherries for the buttercream. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, on low speed, combine powdered sugar, cream, butter, and almond extract. Once incorporated, beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add cherry juice and minced cherries, and beat until just incorporated.
- Spread cherry buttercream over cooled brownie base, in a very even layer. Place pan in freezer for 20 minutes.
Chocolate Glaze:
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter. Remove brownie pan from freezer. Then quickly, yet gently, spread warm chocolate glaze evenly over the cold buttercream. The glaze will be thin. Let cool until glaze hardens (refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes to speed this up, if you like).
- To achieve clean cuts, dip a thin non-serrated knife into a tall glass of lukewarm water after each cut, and then clean off the knife blade before cutting again. The bars cut best when they are slightly chilled.
I made exactly as in the recipe but mine were a lot thinner than in your photo. The base was excellent but the center was beyond sweet and also the chocolate topping wasn’t sufficient to cover the icing. I won’t make again but may use the base for a different topping
I had the same issue. Wondering if a metal 9×13 is the correct size pan.
Hi, Brenda! I was wondering if you might be able to give me some advice. I just put the cherry buttercream on the brownies, but I really don’t like how it looks and I’ve had this same problem with another recipe. I read the directions carefully, put everything in with the correct amount in the order it was supposed to be and it looked pretty nice and fluffy when I was done mixing it! But the problem is that whenever I began to scrape it out of the bowl, the powdered sugar started to separate from the rest of the ingredients making it a very grainy, runny mess and the last time it didn’t set or dry completely. Is there something I might be doing wrong? Or is there any substitute I could use for powdered sugar?
I just finished making these! Can’t wait to taste them later! I had a little bit of a hard time getting the middle layer to be so smooth, so thought I would use 5 oz. chocolate and 5 Tbsp. butter instead of 2 each. Glad I did! I had just enough to cover it well. I think my buttercream layer was just too stiff – maybe my butter was too cold.
Good Luck! You just made my day! Can’t wait to try them!!
Hi!
Any luck with your aunt’s cherry cordial recipe? We’re heading into candy making season! =)
In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!
Lisa
I am working on it. I have purchased the ingredients, wish me luck! It will probably still be a couple weeks before I get a recipe up. :)
Thanks! Can’t wait to try those too! :)
Hi! I’ve made these twice! What a treat! Both times I got rave reviews! I passed your site along to send your recipe. Any chance you will be posting your aunt patsy’s cherry cordial candy recipe? They are my favorites and I’ve never had/made homemade!!
Thank you so much for coming back to let me know how much you like these, Lisa! I’ve put a call into my aunt about that recipe…I’ll keep you posted. ;)