Red Velvet Brownies!

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

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.