This weekend I temporarily lost my baking mojo. I burnt a batch of caramel, ruined shortbread and my pizza dough was a disaster. What was happening? Why did my favorite past time turn on me? ...Sunday night rolled around and I felt the need to redeem myself with one last recipe for Red Velvet Cream Cheese brownies. I crossed my fingers, said a little prayer and made a batch. (Insert magic fairy dust noise here) Success! This recipe was so easy-peasy, moist and delicious and best yet, it's safe to make when your baking mojo has decided to take the day off!
photo by Freutcake
Red Velvet Cream Cheese Brownies
Red Velvet:
1 stick unsalted butter, (8 Tbsp) melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
¾ cup all purpose flour
Cream Cheese:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 x 8 inch pan. {I used glass}
Brownie layer: Add melted butter to a large bowl and add sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, mixing after each addition. Whisk the eggs into the cocoa mix. Mix in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving ⅓ to ¼ cup of the batter for the cream cheese layer.
Cream cheese layer: Blend together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Spread the cream cheese on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Put the remaining cocoa batter over the cream cheese layer. Using the tip of a knife, swirl through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.
To store: wrap remaining brownies in saran wrap and keep in fridge.
MG says
Lucky me, I just started the damn clean program today. So these are going into my ridiculously long list of "things to eat in 20 days".
freutcake says
Wow 20 days! Good luck MG!
michele prata says
Oh Freutcake!
I am going to make these today to serve with my champagne toast for my Birthday tomorrow! Thanks for posting such a great inspiration! Sounds like Heaven!
Kisses!
Michele
freutcake says
Happy Birthday Michele! xoxo
Lane Culpepper says
Oh cream cheese heaven! What a tasty and beautiful dessert 🙂
One for the Oven says
wooooo
Amy Kelly says
Did you use liquid or gel food coloring for these? I'm planning to make these for the Dexter premiere this Sunday and I want to make sure I get a super vibrant red like your lovely brownies!
freutcake says
Hi Amy! I used liquid red food coloring and they turned out very red! Also, try not to "swirl" them too much when you run your knife through because this will mix the batter and cream cheese and make a muddy looking brownie. Hope you enjoy them and have fun!
Cole says
They are a little too cake like and not enough brownie like for our family 🙁
freutcake says
So sorry to hear that! They were very fudgy when I made them. 🙁
Kelsey says
This may be a completeyly noob question... When you say melted butter, do you mean softened outside the fridge for a bit or completely melted in the microwave? I never know which one to do...
freutcake says
Hi Kelsey, you can either melt butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl or melt over low in a small sauce pan. Either way works fine. If you use the microwave check after 30 seconds and stir.
Tammy says
I would love to make these. Did you use self rising, all purpose or cake flour. Looking forward to a reply so that I can bake them. Yummy!
freutcake says
Hi Tammy, thanks for the question! I used all-purpose flour for this recipe.
~Natural Little Mother~ says
These brownies look amazing. I can't wait to try this recipe.
Drina Murphy says
These look absolutely fab! I will put these on my never ending dessert recipe list;)
Janet Brown says
I can't wait to try this.
Janet Brown says
I can't wait to try this recipe love red velvet cake also.
Diamond Oak says
I makecram cheese brownis all the time never thought about red velvet. this is going to be a great addition to my collection
Rachel Conners says
I've been dying to make red velvet brownies lately!
Can't wait to try these...the cream cheese swirl looks amazing!
freutcake says
The secret to the big, beautiful "swirls" is to not over mix the layers when you run your knife through. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Christina Edmondson says
I'm not a fan of brownies, but Red Velvet is our family's favorite. I'm going to make these for Thanksgiving!!! Thanks for sharing 😉
Cat Davis - Food Family Finds says
Mmmmm that has my name written all over it and that would be so pretty to make for Christmas.
freutcake says
Hi Cat! You're right..these would be perfect for Christmas! 🙂
Alison says
I'd like this recipe better without the eggs,there's virtually no use for the eggs.
freutcake says
I am not sure how it would work but this website gives great ideas for egg substitutes in brownie recipes if you are not able to use eggs! http://chefinyou.com/egg-substitutes-cooking/
CaraRsoe says
Would these work just as well in a 9x13 pan or would the middle not cook as well? How long should I cook them for?
freutcake says
I wouldn't use a pan larger than 8x8. These are a layered brownie and the amount of batter is perfect for an 8x8. It would be too thin in a larger pan. Hope that helps!
CaraRsoe says
What if I double the ingredients?
freutcake says
I am not sure how doubling this recipe would work, please let me know how it turns out!
CaraRsoe says
i doubled the recipe and cooked it for 45 minutes. came out PERFECT!!!! thanks for the fabulous recipe, the bars were so pretty and so delicious!
freutcake says
Yay! Thank you so much for testing that out! Plus...who wouldn't want a double batch of red velvet brownies! The more the merrier. 🙂 Have a great weekend.
Katy says
These look wonderful!
CJ says
Made these two days ago for my mom's birthday, and they so were amazing I had to come back and rave about them. They were better than I had dared hope. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
freutcake says
CJ,
Happy Birthday to your Mom. Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I am so glad that you and your Mom liked them. 🙂
kaylee says
shouldn't the sugar in the cream cheese mixture be confectioners sugar?
freutcake says
Hi Kaylee- In this recipe the sugar used in the cream cheese mixture is just regular granulated sugar.
Bianca says
Just made these. They were great! I didn't read these comments til I'd finished, but next time I'll know to be more careful when making the swirls to make them bigger (mine ended up being a little muddy looking) but they still tasted delicious!
freutcake says
So glad you liked them! 🙂 Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment.
Nikki says
Could you use just a brownie mix and add the red food coloring? Would they turn out the same?
freutcake says
No, I wouldn't use brownie mix. Red Velvet really doesn't have that much chocolate in it. In fact this recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and brownie mix is much more chocolatey.
Nikki says
Ah, very true! Can't wait to try these! Thank you!
freutcake says
Hope you like them! 🙂
Kate says
I made these last night and they didn't work! There was soon much butter - when you say a stick do you mean a pound or a half pound stick?
freutcake says
Kate- One stick of butter should only be 4 OZ. or 1/2 cup, 8 Tbsp.
Stephanie says
I know this sounds crazy but in some places you don't buy sticks of butter the way we do in the states... packaging can be different... I wonder if that is what happened to the previous reply...
Jessica says
These look absolutely DIVINE! I am going to make them for a work holiday party. I'm sure they will be delicious!
Mander says
Hi!
I stumbled upon this recipe, and I decided to try it out for my Christmas dinner.
I added green food colouring to the cream cheese mix, and not only are they festive, but they are delicious! Thanks so much for putting this recipe online! 🙂
freutcake says
What a great idea! Thanks for coming back and sharing. 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and your family.
kim0612 says
I made these for thanksgiving....they turned out amazing..thank you, they were a big hit!!
Amanda says
I can't wait to try these, I think they will be a hit at the New Years Eve party this weekend! YAY!
TD says
My sister made these for our family Christmas... There are no words to describe how amazing they were!! Thanks for sharing this sinful recipe!
freutcake says
Oh good! Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know that you liked them. 🙂
Anthony says
Oh dear god these look good! Definitely giving these a shot, i baked for the first time around thanks giving (pumpkin chocolate chip brownies) and they came out a bit more like a really rich cake than a brownie, maybe trying these will help me fix that 😀
Cassie Stephens says
this was amazing 🙂 thank you so much.
Anthony says
i think i overcooked them, they came out mostly correctly (though they were a bit darker than they look in this pic), but they didn't taste very sweet, definitely think i overcooked them :'(
freutcake says
Aw, sorry to hear that!
Sarah says
These look delicious! I want to make them tonight. How many does this batch serve? Theres roughly 30 people going, is this enough?
freutcake says
Hi Sarah, this only make one square 8x8" which I usually cut 4x4 so it makes 16 small brownie squares. Because it is rich you can cut them rather small. If you are serving 30 people you will want to make two batches!
Julia says
I am planning on making these this weekend, they look so good! However, I don't have apple cider vinegar. Can I substitute white vinegar or something else?
freutcake says
Yes, you can substitute the same amount of white vinegar.
Karen says
I made dinner for my roomates JUST so I could use this recipe! These brownies are AMAZING!!!! So moist and fudgy! My pregnant roomie loves red velvet so it was a special treat to her! We all loved them!
Emily says
I just tried this recipe and did it by the book... And it turned out like a cake. 🙁
Enid says
Greetings from Enid Jones Photography! Thanks for sharing! I think this is going to be made soon! Oh and thank you for being honest! I am not an AMAZING baker....but I think I do a good job. When I come to sites where the food is ALWAYS as it should be....amazing....It makes me want to just order stuff instead of make it. But knowing even the amazing ones out there have down days...makes me feel a little more confident to keep going! 🙂 Hope your Baking Mojo stays around though! Good stuff!
Louise says
these were so yummy:) i made them for a friends wake and they were great, cream cheese with red velvet is a perfect combo.i hope you dont mind that ive blogged about them! (with a link to you of course) thanks for the recipe! great pic too!
freutcake says
So sorry to hear that you had to make them for a friends wake however I'm glad you enjoyed them! And yes, I love that you blogged about them. Thank you for sharing the love.
Kayla says
Ive had mine in the oven for a while, and the batter directly under the cream cheese is still runny. I don't know what happened!
Cindy says
I made these for our Relay For Life bake-off and won the champion dessert 🙂
Kayla says
*sad sigh* I'm on a no sugar (ok, maybe a little, but this MUCH sugar would kill me!) detox right now and pintrest is making life so much harder. Needless to say, when this is all over I will be making these!!!
Kate says
I made these because they looked like the best dessert I've ever seen in my life...however I honestly was a little disappointed in them 🙁 The Cream Cheese layer blows your mind but the red velvet seemed a little bitter? I know some people were worried about too much sugar but I still put the exact amount and ended up feeling like it could've tasted better. I'm waiting for them to cool off some more and I'll try them again cold but so far not that great 🙁 I hate leaving negative comments, so sorry!
Mrs. Stacy Hobson says
Yay!!! I made this recipe into cupcakes! I loved it and so did my grandma, sister, dad, mom, brother and husband!! I prob left them in a little longer than the recipe calls for (it was midnight...I was sleepy) but they were still fab!! I just need to work on my swirling skills because mine looked a little muddy...
Patricia says
Just made these and they were delicious!! Very moist and tasty. I always used boxed recipes so this was a first for me. Thank you!!
Joe says
I just made these tonight. Wonderful! great texture, beautiful color....only thing i would do is up the sugar just a bit. in the cream cheese, I'd go from 1/4 to 1/3 cup, and for the brownie, if you just wanted to, I'd go for just a little over a cup.....omg they are delicious as is, though! LOL
Kham says
It doesn't get much better than this. Luuuurrve it!
chana says
awe man, my brownies came out muddy.. read that comment too late.. but they still tasted great! Also, I think it's my oven, it took an hour to cook and the center wasn't cooked all the way. But I'm now convinced it's my oven, that's the 4th time it did that. I thought maybe it was me, but it isn't. It's my oven.. >sad face<
freutcake says
Aw, so sorry to hear you had trouble! 🙁 Glad they still tasted good.
JJLester says
OMG! I found this page a few days ago and could not wait to try them. I just finished baking them and I must say, super yum! I didn't have any red food colouring (because a certain 6 year old decided to try to make fake blood) so instead I used blue. So it was blue velvet. And it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing this recipe. ^_^
freutcake says
So glad you found my site! Blue velvet cream cheese brownies sound just as tasty! 😉
Seima Bakes says
I made these a few months back but never left a comment,today I am going to make them again! I must say just how amazing your recipe is. It came out perfect,moist,dense,fudgy,red-velvety,I LOVE it! I think some could taste bitterness due to the food coloring they used,I used red liquid food coloring and its tasteless. This recipe is a keeper and yup fun to play around with other colors too! One thing though,is it necessary to add a few tablespoons of buttermilk? Just wondering! Thanks for posting this! 🙂
ali says
very quick and easy recipe! however, i had to bake them for about 35 mins. unfortunately they turned out a light brown color, not as red as i would have liked! they turned out very well, taste awesome!
freutcake says
Hi Ali. If they weren't quite as red as you would have liked, you might try gel food coloring next time. This will give you a much brighter color!
Lavon Lewis says
I'll make these for grown daughter's birthday party this weekend along with Italian Cream Cake, which she asked for. Yum, Yum
freutcake says
Hope she enjoys them! 🙂 Happy birthday to your daughter!
Nicole says
These are baking in the oven as we speak. Can't wait to try them!!
Crystal says
Do you need to sift the flour
freutcake says
No, sifting is not necessary.
Liz says
Just made these tonight for a holiday party I'm going to tomorrow. Of course I had to try them and they turned out amaaaazing! Can't wait to make them again! Hubs and I are trying not to have more otherwise there won't be any left for the party! Thanks for sharing this recipe! 🙂
Lauren Marshall says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I dont bake much and have never made homemade brownies but these might be the best ive ever had! Followed your instructions exactly and they turned out perfect. 🙂
freutcake says
I'm so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how they turned out. 🙂
Miranda Mcloughlin says
I want to make these for part of my boyfriend's Valentine's Day gift, but I don't want to have to make the brownies from scratch. Could I just add the red food coloring to pre made brownie mix?
freutcake says
Hi Miranda. I think that adding red food coloring to a boxed mix would be interesting to try but I don't think you will get the same result. This recipe only calls for a small amount of chocolate and apple cider vinegar which gives it the red velvet flavor. Red velvet is not a super chocolatey flavor. I hope you will try this recipe from scratch; I promise it is easy!