Red Velvet Brownies!
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A simple yet delicious red velvet brownie recipe with a vanilla and chocolate red velvet inspired base, with a vanilla cheesecake swirl throughout. A fun and tasty brightly coloured bake that is easy to prep and make, and is always a good crowd pleaser.
Notes from The Patisserie
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. 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.
Ingredient notes + tips for the best bake
The brownie mixture
- Butter – for the brownie base you can use a block unsalted butter at room temperature, or you can use a baking spread/margarine
- Sugar – I used caster sugar as I don’t want any colour in the sugar, but I still want the sweetness. Using other sugars could change the end result as you are heavily relying on the food colouring
- Vanilla – I believe this to be essential in this bake for the flavour you are after – I prefer a good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Food colouring – read more below
- Eggs – I use medium eggs, so I use four in this recipe – but you can swap to three large if that is what you have instead
- Cocoa – I prefer to use a strong 100% cocoa powder, even though it is deeper in colour. This is because you need to use a smaller amount for the best results, but still get the richness of the chocolate
- Flour – it’s important to use plain flour here as you do not want any raising agent – anything else will cause a cake texture
- Vinegar – this adds flavour and helps with the texture of the brownie
The cheesecake mixture
As this cheesecake is a baked mixture, it’s quite different to other cheesecake recipes on my blog. It’s a simple four ingredient mixture that has a much runnier texture than others, so don’t worry if you think it looks different.
- Cheese – it’s best to use a full-fat soft cheese (you can use supermarket own, or a brand such as Philadelphia)
- Sugar – I use caster sugar to bring in the sweetness to combat the tart flavour of the cheese
- Vanilla – a hint of vanilla does a world of wonders for a simple baked cheesecake mixture
- Egg – one egg yolk helps actually bake the cheesecake mix, allowing it to set properly in the oven.
What red food colouring should I use?
The main issues with baking red velvet cakes and other bakes, has always been using the incorrect food colouring. I will say it over and over again.. you MUST use good quality colouring. Supermarket own colours (especially ones in the UK where I am from) are not good enough quality, unfortunately.
The quantity in which you use is also quite key, as the best colours are super super strong, you don’t need a lot. A little goes a long way, and you don’t want to go over kill as all strong food colours have a weight allowed per bake (always best to read the labels)
Cocoa powder is a vital ingredient, but also the ingredient that can cause food colouring to not work with it being brown and all – combat this, by using my recommended red food colour.
Making the best red velvet brownies
The full recipe and method can be found in the recipe card below, but here are some tips to make the BEST version of these that you can.
- Creaming together the butter and sugar fully first prevents any butter lumps in the batter later on – block butter I use at room temperature to make it easier to mix, but a baking spread or margarine can be used from fridge cold
- You do not need to use a fancy stand mixer or hand mixer to make these, you can definitely make them by hand. Just make sure to not over-mix, as any cake/bake mixture can have texture issues if it is over mixed.
- Baking until there is a small wobble in the middle is best – timings can vary in any recipe as ovens wildly vary themselves. Even if you have 10 electric fan ovens set to ‘the same thing’ it may still be different so it’s finding what works for your oven.
- It’s best to let them set in the tin and then fridge to let the brownies firm up and the cheesecake set properly before slicing
FAQs
Theoretically yes, but how colours respond to the mix depends on the colour, strength of colour and what you want as an end result.
No – the bottles of liquid colouring typically found in supermarkets are NOT strong enough (see notes above)
For sure! I use vanilla as a base as I find it complements the red velvet well, but you can leave this out, or flavour it completely differently. I would recommend 1tsp of a strong flavouring
Yes, you can! Half of the recipe fits a 7″ square tin. Baking time will reduce
Red Velvet Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
Red Velvet Brownies
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 275 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp red food colouring (see blog post)
- 4 medium eggs
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 125 g plain flour
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
Cheesecake Swirl
- 250 g full-fat soft cream cheese
- 75 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan and line a 9×9" square tin with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until combined
- Add in the vanilla and red food colouring and mix again
- Add in the eggs and mix together
- Add in the cocoa powder, and plain flour, and mix.
- Finally, add in the white wine vinegar and stir through
- In a separate bowl, add the full-fat soft cream cheese and mix to loosen slightly
- Add the sugar and vanilla and mix together
- Add the egg yolk, and mix through.
- Pour 90% of the brownie mixture into the prepared lined 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, and then set in the fridge for at least an hour (but preferably overnight)
Notes
- These will lsat for 3-4+ days, in the fridge.
- They can freeze for 3+ months
- I recommend using this red food colouring for this recipe
- I also recommend using this 9 square tin for this recipe.
Storage & Freezing
These red velvet brownies are delicious once they have been chilled and set in the fridge. They will last for 3-4+ days, preferably in the fridge due to the cheesecake mixture. They could last out of the fridge for a couple of hours on a cool day, but really they should be chilled.
These red velvet brownies can be cooled for 3+ months – I would personally portion the red velvet brownies first, and then freeze in a freezer safe container.
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?