These brownies, with their contrasting chocolate and cherry layers, are both pretty and playful.
Ingredients
Brownie Base:
4ouncesunsweetened chocolate bar, roughly chopped(I use Baker's brand)
⅔cupunsalted butter
2cupspacked light brown sugar
3largeeggs
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
1¼cupall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking powder
1teaspoonkosher salt
Cherry Buttercream:
¼cupminced maraschino cherries
2½cupspowdered sugar
2tablespoonsheavy cream
10 tablespoonsunsalted butter,at room temperature
1teaspoonpure almond extract
1tablespoonmaraschino cherry juice
Chocolate Glaze:
5ouncesgood quality semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, roughly chopped(I use Bakers brand)
5tablespoonsunsalted 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.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.