Heart Shaped Brownies with Fresh Raspberry Buttercream
Heart Shaped Brownies with Fresh Raspberry Buttercream are the perfect Valentine (or any time!) brownies. Fudgy, decadent brownies sandwich a creamy homemade buttercream flavored with real raspberries. I’m in love!
Every time I make these Heart Shaped Brownies with Fresh Raspberry Buttercream, our girls go crazy.
But really, what’s not to love?
Fudgy, decadent brownies sandwich a sweet and creamy homemade buttercream frosting flavored with real raspberries. It’s a match made in heaven, the perfect Valentine brownies!
“Okay. I just died and went to heaven with the raspberry frosting! Seriously! My most favorite flavor is caramel, but I think I just found my new favorite! Thank you!”
Kay
If I had to choose just one dessert as my favorite, it would have to be a fudgy, chewy brownie.
And when you throw in some berries…well, I’m a goner.
I like to make these brownies because I know how much our daughters adore them. But it’s true. I like them, too!
The fresh raspberry buttercream tips these heart brownies over the top when it comes to special Valentine’s Day treats.
The frosting is bright and tangy, full of real raspberry flavor. And the vibrant pink color is compliments of the beautiful red raspberry alone. No artificial color is added.
Heart Shaped Brownies
I use cookie cutters to create the heart shaped brownies. With this recipe, I can make six larger brownie sandwiches, plus a number of smaller ones. Sometimes I choose to make a whole pan of smaller heart sandwiches, a nice size for a smaller piece of dessert.
After the brownies are cut out, I pipe the raspberry buttercream (with this piping tip) over one heart and gently press a second heart over the top.
Then I give the tops of the chocolate brownie hearts a little dusting of powdered sugar with a powdered sugar shaker. This not only adds pretty detail, but also helps to hide any imperfections made when cutting the brownies.
If you’re looking for a fun and super flavorful dessert for Valentine’s Day, give these brownies a try. They’re visually impressive, yet comforting like only a brownie knows how to be. Just ask the girls in this house. We’re in love.
Like this recipe? Save it to Pinterest!
Looking for more Valentine’s Day treats? These Yeast Donuts with Fresh Raspberry Glaze are lovely. Chocolate Mousse Cups are always a hit. And this recipe for Gooey Chocolate Mug Cake for Two is quick and easy, and so very good!
And here are a few treats I’d love to try! Red Velvet Cherry Dream Bars from 365 Days of Baking & More look so very fun. And this Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake from TidyMom has my name written all over it!
Heart Shaped Brownies with Fresh Raspberry Buttercream
Ingredients
for the brownies:
- ½ c. unsalted butter diced
- 3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate chopped
- 1-1/2 c. sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¾ c. all-purpose flour
- powdered sugar to sprinkle on the finished brownie hearts
for the fresh raspberry buttercream:
- 12 oz. raspberries fresh or frozen
- ½ c. unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3-1/2 c. powdered sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- for the brownies: Preheat oven to 325° F. Fold a long piece of heavy foil into a 13" wide strip and fit it inside a 9" x 13" metal baking pan, leaving foil overhang on the 2 long sides. Spray the foil lightly with nonstick spray. Set pan aside.
- In a large heavy saucepan over very low heat, stir butter and chocolate until everything is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar, and then the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in espresso powder, vanilla, and salt. Then sift the flour over the chocolate mixture and stir to blend well. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
- Bake brownies until slightly puffed and dry-looking and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on rack.
- for the fresh raspberry buttercream: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the raspberries, stirring frequently, until the raspberries are broken down into a very loose sauce. Line a fine mesh strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth, and then pour the raspberry sauce through to remove the seeds. To get all the raspberry juice possible, twist up the ends of the cheesecloth very tightly and press on the raspberry sauce with the back side of a large wooden spoon to extract the juice. Then pour the raspberry juice back in the pot. Simmer until the juice reduces to 1/4 cup. The juice will be very concentrated, deep red in color. Set aside to cool.
- With a stand mixer, cream the butter with a paddle attachment on medium high speed about 2 minutes, until butter is lightened in color and a bit fluffy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, the 1/4 cup of cooled raspberry sauce, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until smooth. Add another 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Fit a pastry bag with a medium-large round tip (I use a this tip) and fill with fresh raspberry buttercream.
- to create the brownie hearts: Run a knife around the inside edge of the brownie pan. Use the overhanging foil as an aid and gently lift the brownies from the pan. The brownies should be about 1/2" thick, so ensure that your cookie cutter is taller than 1/2". Press heart-shaped cookie cutters (the cookie cutters used in my photos measure 3" wide and 1-1/2" wide) firmly into the cooled brownie. Use a thin metal spatula to lift the cookie cutter filled with brownie from the foil. Gently press the brownie out of the cookie cutter. Repeat the cutting process until your brownie looks like a big piece of Swiss cheese. (Don’t throw away the scraps, they’re awesome little nibbles!)
- With the pastry bag filled with fresh raspberry buttercream, pipe a line of frosting around the inside edge of one of the brownie hearts. Then fill in the inside of the line with frosting, too. Top with another brownie heart, gently pressing down to make a sandwich. Repeat until all your brownie hearts are completed.
- To finish, sprinkle the brownie hearts with powdered sugar. I like to fill a powdered sugar shaker with powdered sugar and gently tap the side to let the powdered sugar rain down.
With the heart-shaped cookie cutters I use, I can make six large brownie heart sandwiches, plus several smaller ones. Or I can make about 20 of the smaller brownie heart sandwiches.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was previously published in 2012. Some of the photographs and some of the text were updated in 2019.
I am looking forward to making this recipe this weekend!! Is no liquid initially added to the saucepan with the raspberries? Can you tell me approx how long to cook the raspberries for?
That is correct, no liquid. The raspberries will break down and give off their own juices. Cook raspberries, breaking them up periodically, until the raspberries are completely broken down and very liquid. This will take at least 10 minutes. Enjoy the brownies!!
These look great, Brenda. My wife has had a long week and I’m going to surprise her with these tonight -Joe
I’m gonna make these for my boyfriend for Valentine’s day. But I was wondering how long do they stay good? I want to possibly make them the day before Valentine’s day, if I put them in a container will they still be good the next day?
Absolutely, they’ll still be great made a day beforehand. I would just caution to keep them at a cooler temperature if possible (not sitting under hot undercabinet lights, for example!). Enjoy!
Hi Brenda! I’m in the middle of making your recipe and I doubled it so I can make some hearts for Galentine’s Day (tomorrow) and Valentine’s Day (in two days).  Will the left over brownie batter be okay to seal and refrigerate and then bake for the Valentine’s Day batch?! I sure hope so!Â
Thank You! – DaniellaÂ
These brownies have been on my list of things to make for a while now, but I finally got around to it today. In a word, yum. I love the fresh raspberry buttercream. It has a wonderful tanginess that makes the icing not overwhelming. The brownies are also delicious and could easily standalone without the lovely pairing of the raspberry buttercream. Overall, great recipe!
I’m so glad you liked these! These brownies are a favorite of our daughters’.
I just made these brownies, I thought I had lemon juice but did not, so made them without.
They taste good, what is the lemon juice for?
These are so good. Easy too. I think the longer the frosting sits, the stronger the raspberry flavor gets. These are yummy.
Okay…. I need to say…. those are some great brownies. Every time I make them, I have to make a double recipe, and every time I take it to work people LOVE IT!
Made these today, and the brownies are delicious, but my buttercream curdled :( I’ll try again someday!
just made these and the recipe worked fine :) but they are sickly sweet. Do you think you can make these without as much sugar? 5 cups of sugar in the whole thing is pretty intense haha
Hello Dee – yes, these are sweet. But they are always a hit whenever I serve them. I haven’t experimented with less sugar, but feel free to give it a try. :)