Red Velvet Brownies!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details!*
Delicious red velvet brownies with a vanilla cheesecake swirl!
This post may contain affiliate links.
So the time has come, to give you… RED. VELVET. BROWNIES. Yeah, that’s right – red velvet brownies. This is a recipe that has been requested for longer than I can remember, so I am finally giving you the ultimate dream!
Some people may be a little confused from the beginning here about how you can have red velvet in brownie form, but roll with me. It’s possible. And it’s DELICIOUS.
SO! To explain the bake… red velvet cake is basically a chocolate and vanilla cake, that is also red. Originally, they were not made using red food colouring, but these days, it’s just the easiest and most straight forward route.
The main issues with baking red velvet cakes has always been using the incorrect food colouring. I will say it over and over again.. you MUST use good quality colouring. Cocoa powder is a vital ingredient, but also the ingredient that can cause food colouring not work with it being brown and all.
Anyway! To make the classic red velvet cake into a brownie.. you sorta have to combine several recipes. I essentially combined the ideas of my red velvet cake, Brownies, and Blondies all in one. The quantities vary slightly in comparison to them all, and basic ingredients differ, but otherwise… they’re so similar!
I use Red Extra food colouring, because it is just the ultimate for this situation. I use it for all red velvet bakes, and pretty much anything I do that needs to be red. Honestly, it is just such good quality! If you use a supermarket own brand, it just will NOT work. Also, the amount you need to use is rather disgusting.. this way, you don’t need much at all!
For red velvet to be red velvet these days… you need cocoa powder, vanilla, white vinegar and buttermilk. For these brownies however, you need the cocoa powder, vanilla and white vinegar along with the other ingredients.
I tried to incorporate buttermilk into them, but it just didn’t float at all. Neither did the bicarbonate of soda which is also found in the cakes often! Either way, I feel like this does have enough ingredients in to be called red velvet brownies.
For the cheesecake swirl, it’s a very similar recipe to the cheesecake in my cheesecake brownies just because I love it so much! You just have to stir it all together as little as possible to make it smooth, and then swirl it in!
The best way I found to achieve the swirl is to add in 90% of the mix into the tin, dollop/pour the cheesecake over, and then add on the rest of the brownie mix. Swirl it through, and bake! The cheesecake will sink into the brownie, but this way you get folds of cheesecake throughout, and it’s the best!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! x
Red Velvet Brownies!
Ingredients
Red Velvet Brownies
- 150 g Unsalted Butter
- 275 g Caster Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Red Food Colouring
- 4 Medium Eggs
- 30 g Cocoa Powder
- 125 g Plain Flour
- 1 tsp White Wine Vinegar
Cheesecake Swirl
- 250 g Full-Fat Cream Cheese
- 75 g Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg Yolk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan and line a 9x9" square tin with parchment paper!
- Beat together your Butter and Sugar until combined!
- Add in the Vanilla and Red Food Colouring - I find it easier to mix these two together to make a thinner paste, and then mix into the Butter/Sugar!
- Add in the Eggs one at a time, beating each time. Add in the Cocoa Powder, and Flour, and beat again.
- Finally, add in the White Wine Vinegar - and mix. You want to mix this mixture as little as possible!
- In a separate bowl, add your Cream Cheese, Sugar and Vanilla and beat till smooth. Add in the Egg Yolk and mix again!
- Pour 90% of your Brownie Mixture into the tin - dollop over the cream cheese mix, and then dollop over the last little bit of Brownie Mix
- Swirl the mixture together - and then bake in the oven for 28-35 minutes. Mine were in for 30!
- Leave to cool in the tin for 20-30 minutes or so, and then cool fully on a wire rack!
Notes
- I recommend using this Red Food Colouring for this recipe!
- I also recommend using this 9 square tin for this recipe!
- These will last in the fridge or at room temp on a cooler day, for 3-4 days!
ENJOY!
Find my other Cake Recipes on my Recipes Page!
You can find me on:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube
J x
© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.
I don’t have a 9″ Square tin would 8″ be too small? And 10″ too big? What about a 12 by 8 inch rectangular tin.
Thanks
The 10″ square and 12×8″ rectangle are roughly the same size, and 1.2x the recipe – so the mix is a bit small for it, and the 8″ is about 0.8x the recipe. I would use the 8″, but bake for a bit longer!
I’m really looking forward to trying these. Thank you for your hard work preparing it! Would these be okay to bake into a foil tin and freeze for another time?
Also any tips for cutting these when you’ve made them?
Thank you
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!! I just use a sharp knife to cut them! X
10/10 for taste however, I used nearly half a bottle of food colouring and they still didn’t turn out red which was disappointing.
Which food colouring would you recommend for next time, so I don’t face the same problem?
Thank you. 😊
Did you use supermarket colouring? Unfortunately as mentioned in the recipe post that will never work as they are awful – the one I use is linked on the post! x
I’m just making these now and they’ve been in the oven for over 25 minutes and the top is still wobbling all over. What would you recommend?
They will wobble slightly when coming out – and as mentioned you need to bake for about 28-35 minutes, so they just haven’t finished baking. Once you take them out, leave them to cool and they should firm up! Also, you can leave them in the fridge for a bit once cooled and that will help them set even more!
Baked these brownies yesterday..
Very straight forward recipe. Only used 180 g of Philadelphia.
Cooked for 35 minutes. They were bit wobbly from the middle. But it did taste very delicious
Very happy with the end product. Will definitely bake it again xx
for the cream cheese, is there a certain you’d recommend? eg. Philadelphia
I personally use Philadelphia yes!
Just baked these brownies!
The recipe was very easy to follow…
Cooked for 28 mins (160 fan,) then another 2mins as they were far to wobbly.
Left to cool for 3 hours, cut into 12 squares and they look a bit spongey (they were still quite wobbly in the middle when I took them out of the oven.)
Not sure where I went wrong 🙁 They do taste very good though!
If you’re going to make these, I’d maybe take them out even when you think they are waaay to under done and leave them to COMPLETELY cool before cutting. Maybe even leave until next day if you want them to firm up a bit!
Over all, happy with the recipe and outcome, just I’d prefer them stodgier so will be making again!
Thank you 🙂
Hiya! Yes they probably needed 26-27 minutes or so in your oven, rather than the extra! Because of the swirl of the cheesecake, they will wobble a bit! You’ve just over baked them slightly is all 🙂
Hello
I made the brownies today and they came out spongy like a sponge cake. Where do you think i went wrong?
Thanks
That sounds like they are a bit over baked!
About to make this recipe, would you recommend frosting these brownies? if so, would you know of what a good flavour would be? Cream Cheese?
I personally think they’re good as they are – but feel free!
I don’t have any vinegar to hand. Will these work without it? Many thanks x
It’s important, which is why it’s there. It’s for the colouring, and for the general bake.
Hi,
Can I substitute the caster sugar with light brown soft sugar?
For these, it’s best to stick to white because of the colouring, but you can use it if need be – it could just be a darker colour.
Not to undo all your hard work in researching and testing this recipe, but is it possible to omit the red food colouring?
It won’t be a red velvet brownie if you do, and the recipe is designed to keep the red colour there so it would be a little odd.
Really looking forward to baking these red velvet brownies, can I add white chocolate chips or won’t they work? Thanks in advance x
You definitely could!
Hi! I am making these for the first time today (very excited!) and have 2 questions:
1. Can I use dairy free spread in place of the butter as I only have this in the fridge?
2. When beating, is it okay to use an electric whisk?
Thanks!
I would recommend using genuine butter, but it should still be okay with something else like that. And you can for the brownies but for the cheesecake I would just use a spatula!
DELICIOUS! the cake looks really delicious and mouthwatering. I’m sure my guests loved it!
What’s the alternative I can use for white wine vinegar in the red velvet brownies ? I’d there a substitute?many thanks
Are these suitable for freezing?
Yes!!
I made these and they have come out with more of a cake texture, how can I prevent this next time?
This means they are overbaked so they need less baking time! x
I need to make this for a hen do but I’d like to bake in small individual heart cake tins do you think they’ll bake the same?