My husband does not like cake. He will still order a whole round red velvet cake and eat it by himself over the course of a week, because he is the only person in this house who wants it.
He does not like chocolate cake either. Red velvet is the one exception, and I have never gotten a straight answer out of him about why.
I am a brownie person. So I stopped buying him cake and made these red velvet brownies with cream cheese frosting instead, which turned out to be the version he actually wanted the whole time.
They are made from scratch, not from a cake mix, and the batter comes together in one bowl with melted butter. A 9x9 pan bakes in about 25 minutes at 325°F, and the low oven is what keeps the middle dense instead of cakey. The frosting goes on once the pan is completely cool.
If you want a plain sweet frosting instead of the tangy one, my vanilla buttercream frosting works here too.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This
- What Makes These Red Velvet, Not Chocolate
- Ingredients
- How to Make Fudgy Red Velvet Brownies
- How to Cut Clean Squares
- Variations
- What To Serve With This
- Storage, Make Ahead, and Freezing
- Rose's Top Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- More Easy Desserts
- Did you try this recipe?
- Fudgy Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Why You'll Love This
- Made from scratch, not a cake mix. A box mix is built for cake, so it comes loaded with leavening that puffs the pan up instead of keeping it dense. Mixing the batter yourself means you control how much lift goes in, which is the whole difference between a brownie and a thin red cake.
- The low oven is doing the work. These bake at 325°F instead of the usual 350°F. The edges set more slowly, so the center is still soft when the pan comes out, and you get a fudgy middle without gambling on a two-minute window.
- One bowl for the batter. Melted butter goes in first, then everything else follows in the same bowl. Nothing needs creaming, so there is no stand mixer and no waiting for butter to soften.
- The frosting is there to cut the sugar, not add to it. Full-fat cream cheese beaten with butter stays tangy enough to balance a sweet brownie base. A plain buttercream on top of this would be too much sweet on sweet.
- Pantry ingredients plus one worth buying. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa, vinegar, cornstarch, salt. The only thing you may need to pick up is gel food coloring, and it is the one ingredient here that genuinely changes the result.
What Makes These Red Velvet, Not Chocolate
Red velvet is not chocolate cake with dye in it. There is cocoa, but only a little, just enough for depth without turning everything brown.
Use natural unsweetened cocoa here, not Dutch-process. Natural cocoa is acidic, and that acidity is what reacts with the vinegar. Dutch-process has already been treated, so nothing happens. You still get a decent brownie, but the tang disappears and the color goes flat.
The vinegar is for flavor, not lift. There is no baking soda in this recipe on purpose. Vinegar plus soda would foam and aerate the batter, and aerated batter bakes into cake. Without the soda, the crumb stays dense and the vinegar just does its job.
No buttermilk either. Red velvet cake uses it for acidity and tenderness, but tender is the opposite of what you want in a brownie, and the extra liquid works against the texture. The vinegar handles the tang on its own, so you are not buying a quart of buttermilk for three tablespoons.
As for the red, that comes from gel coloring. Gel gives you a true red without thinning the batter the way liquid does.
Ingredients
For the Red Velvet Brownies
- Unsalted butter: Melted, not creamed. Creaming beats air into the batter and air is what makes brownies cakey. Melting keeps everything dense from the start.
- White sugar: Granulated only. Brown sugar has molasses in it, and molasses will dull the red into something closer to brick.
- Whole eggs: Room temperature. Cold eggs seize the melted butter and you end up with grainy batter that never fully smooths out.
- Neutral oil: Butter alone firms up as the brownies cool. Oil stays liquid at room temperature, so a little of it keeps the middle soft the next day instead of stiff.
- Natural unsweetened cocoa powder: Not Dutch-process. Natural cocoa is acidic and reacts with the vinegar. Dutch-process is already alkalized, so you lose the tang and the color reads browner.
- All-purpose flour: Measure it spooned and leveled. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour, and extra flour is the fastest way to turn these into cake.
- Cornstarch: Softens the flour's protein so the brownies stay tender rather than chewy. Skip it and they firm up noticeably by day two.
- Distilled white vinegar: The tang. There is no baking soda in this recipe, so the vinegar is doing flavor work, not lift.
- Salt: Cuts the sweetness. Leave it out and the brownies taste one-note under the frosting.
- Red gel food coloring: Gel is concentrated, so you reach a true red without adding liquid. Liquid coloring takes noticeably more to get the same shade and thins the batter while you do it.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste: Rounds out the small amount of cocoa. Paste gives you the flecks if you want them visible.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese: Full-fat block, not the spreadable tub. Tub cream cheese has extra water and stabilizers in it and the frosting will not hold its shape on top of the brownies.
- Unsalted butter: Softened, not melted. Butter is what gives the frosting enough structure to spread cleanly instead of sliding off.
- Confectioner's sugar: Sift it. Powdered sugar clumps in the box, and clumps do not beat out once the cream cheese is in there.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste: Keeps the frosting from tasting purely tangy.
- Salt: A pinch, for the same reason as in the brownies.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Fudgy Red Velvet Brownies
- Prep the pan. Heat the oven to 325°F and line a 9x9 pan with parchment, leaving some overhang on two sides so you can lift the whole slab out later. The 325°F is deliberate. The lower oven sets the edges more slowly, so the center is still soft when the pan comes out.
- Melt the butter, then stir in the sugar. Melt the unsalted butter in a large bowl, then whisk in the white sugar until the mixture looks smooth and glossy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla. Whisk in the whole eggs and the vanilla until the batter comes back together and looks even. Room temperature eggs matter here, since cold ones will seize the melted butter and leave you with a grainy mix.
- Add the oil and cocoa powder. Whisk in the neutral oil and the natural cocoa powder until no dry streaks remain.
- Fold in the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Switch to a spatula and fold gently, stopping the moment the last of the flour disappears. This is the step where cakey brownies get made. Every extra stir works air into the batter, and air is what puffs them up in the oven.
- Stir in the coloring and vinegar. Add the red gel and the distilled white vinegar and stir just enough to distribute the color evenly. The vinegar reacts with the natural cocoa and gives you the tang that makes these taste like red velvet instead of chocolate.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it level. Pull them when a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs on it, not clean. A clean toothpick means they are already overbaked, and they will keep setting as they cool. Let the pan cool completely before you go anywhere near the frosting.
- Beat the butter and cream cheese. In a clean bowl, beat the softened butter and full-fat cream cheese together with the vanilla and a pinch of salt until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Add the powdered sugar. Add the sifted confectioner's sugar gradually, beating until the frosting is smooth and holds its shape.
- Frost. Once the brownies are fully cool, spread the frosting evenly over the top. If the pan is even slightly warm the frosting will slide and thin out.
How to Cut Clean Squares
Cream cheese frosting drags the moment a warm blade touches it, so the squares end up smeared instead of sharp. Two things fix that.
Chill the pan for about 30 minutes after frosting. The frosting firms up just enough to hold an edge, and the brownie underneath stays soft enough to cut through cleanly.
Then use a hot knife. Dip a long blade in very hot water, wipe it completely dry, and cut. Wipe it again between every cut. A wet blade waters down the frosting, and a dirty one carries the last cut into the next one.
Use the parchment overhang to lift the whole slab out onto a board before slicing. Cutting in the pan means dragging the knife against the sides, and you lose the corner pieces.
Let the squares sit out for 20 to 30 minutes before serving so the frosting softens back up.
Variations
- Chocolate chips. Fold half a cup into the batter at the end of step 5. White chocolate chips show up better against the red than semisweet does, and they add sweetness rather than more cocoa flavor.
- Red velvet cheesecake brownies. Hold back a few spoonfuls of brownie batter, spread the rest in the pan, dollop a sweetened cream cheese mixture over the top, then swirl the reserved batter through it with a knife. Swirl less than you think you need. Once the two batters blend fully you get uniform pink instead of a pattern. Skip the frosting if you go this route, since the cheesecake layer already does that job.
- Chopped nuts. Walnuts or pecans, about half a cup folded in with the flour. They break up the density, which is the point of adding them, though they do cover some of the red on the cut edge.
- Cookie crumble on top. Crushed vanilla wafers or Oreos pressed into the frosting right after you spread it. Do it while the frosting is still soft or they will not stick.
- Mini muffin pan. Divide the batter into a greased mini muffin tin and start checking at 12 minutes. They bake much faster than a 9x9 pan and go from fudgy to dry quickly, so pull them early.
What To Serve With This
- Vanilla ice cream. A cold scoop against a room temperature square is the pairing worth making. The plain vanilla is the point here, since the brownies and frosting already have a lot going on.
- Fresh berries. Raspberries or strawberries. The tartness cuts the frosting the same way the cream cheese cuts the brownie.
- Coffee. Black, alongside. The bitterness resets your palate between bites, which matters more with a dessert this sweet.
- Whipped cream. For when you want something soft on the plate but not another layer of sugar.
- Chocolate ganache. Drizzled over the frosting if you are serving these as a plated dessert rather than a pan of squares.
Storage, Make Ahead, and Freezing
Cream cheese frosting is perishable dairy, so these live in the fridge, not on the counter. Airtight container, up to 5 days.
Two hours out is the limit while you are serving. After that the pan goes back in. Let cut squares sit out 20 to 30 minutes before eating, since cold frosting is stiff and you lose the texture you baked for.
To freeze, cool the slab completely, cut, wrap the squares individually, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and frost after they come to room temperature. Frosting first works, but the cream cheese comes back a little grainy.
To make ahead, bake a day early and leave them unfrosted and covered on the counter overnight. Frost the morning you need them. The brownie is fine out on its own, it is only the frosting that cannot sit.
Rose's Top Tips
- Use gel food coloring, not liquid. Gel is concentrated enough to get a true red without adding liquid to the batter. Liquid coloring takes a lot more to reach the same shade, and all that extra liquid loosens the batter on the way there.
- Pull them when the toothpick still has crumbs on it. A clean toothpick means they are already past done. Brownies keep setting in the hot pan after the oven, so the batch you pull slightly early is the batch that stays fudgy.
- Wait for the pan to go completely cool before frosting. Not mostly cool. Cream cheese frosting softens fast against residual heat, and it will slide off the top and pool at the edges instead of staying where you spread it.
- Weigh or spoon and level your flour. Scooping the cup straight into the bag packs in extra, and extra flour is the single most common reason a batch comes out cakey.
Recipe FAQs
Almost always the coloring. Liquid food coloring is diluted, so it takes far more of it to reach a true red, and the cocoa darkens whatever you add. Gel is concentrated and gets there without thinning the batter. Brown sugar will also dull the color toward brick, which is why this recipe uses white sugar only.
More fat, less flour, and less air. Melting the butter instead of creaming it keeps air out from the start, and folding the flour in gently rather than beating it keeps the batter dense. Extra flour from scooping the measuring cup is the other common culprit.
Usually overbaking or overmixing. Pull the pan when a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs on it, not clean, and stop folding the moment the flour disappears.
Yes. Bake the brownies a day early, leave them unfrosted and covered on the counter, and frost the morning you need them. Once frosted they go in the fridge.
Lightly chocolatey with a tang behind it. The cocoa is there in a small amount for depth, and the vinegar gives it the sharpness that separates red velvet from chocolate. The cream cheese frosting leans into that same tang rather than covering it.
You can, but it changes the result. Dutch-process is alkalized, so it does not react with the vinegar the way natural cocoa does. You lose most of the tang and the color reads browner.
More Easy Desserts
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Chocolate Crinkles: Chocolate, baked in one pan of dough, and the crackly top comes down to the same overmixing question as brownies.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar: White sugar only, same as these brownies, and it changes the texture in ways worth tasting side by side.
- Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Browning the butter first is the one extra step, and it is the step that carries the whole recipe.
- Matcha Green Tea Cupcake: Another frosted baked good if you want something lighter than a pan of brownies.
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Fudgy Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 9x9 baking pan
- 1 hand mixer
- 1 large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Red Velvet Brownies
- ¾ cup Unsalted butter
- 1¼ cups White sugar
- 3 whole Whole eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ⅓ cup Neutral Oil (canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil)
- ¼ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ¾ cup All purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Distilled White vinegar
- ¼ teaspooon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Red food coloring gel preferred
Stable Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup Unsalted butter
- 4 oz Cream cheese
- 1 teaspooon Vanilla extract/ Vanilla bean paste
- 2 cups Confectioner's sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Red Velvet Brownies:
- Prep the pan: Preheat your oven to 335°F (170°C) and grease or line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter and sugar: In a large mixing bowl, melt the unsalted butter and mix it with white sugar until smooth.¾ cup Unsalted butter, 1¼ cups White sugar
- Add egg and vanilla: Stir in the whole egg and vanilla extract until well combined.3 whole Whole eggs (room temperature), 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Add oil and cocoa powder: Mix in the neutral oil and unsweetened cocoa powder until smooth.⅓ cup Neutral Oil, ¼ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Add flour, cornstarch and salt: Gradually fold in the all-purpose flour, cornstarch and salt, mixing just until combined.¾ cup All purpose flour, 1 tablespoon Cornstarch, ¼ teaspooon Salt
- Add vinegar and red coloring gel: Stir in the distilled white vinegar to activate the cocoa and create that signature red velvet flavor.1 tablespoon Distilled White vinegar, 1 teaspoon Red food coloring
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the brownies cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Mix cream cheese, salt, and vanilla: In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until smooth.¼ cup Unsalted butter, 4 oz Cream cheese, 1 teaspooon Vanilla extract/ Vanilla bean paste, pinch of salt, 2 cups Confectioner's sugar
- Add powdered sugar: Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Frost the brownies: Once the brownies are completely cool, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the top.
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Nancy L James says
I love red velvet cake and plan to try this recipe. A few things need clarification. The recipe calls for 1/4 cocoa. Is it a fourth of a cup? Second, what is neutral oil? And last, when do I add the red gel food coloring. Instructions don't say. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I look forward to your reply so I can make this cake.
Rose Sioson says
Hi Nancy! Thanks for your feedback. I updated it based on your input. Let me know if you have more question. 🙂
Sharon Andrews says
At what point do you add the cornstarch?
Rose Sioson says
Hello Sharon! You should add it along with the all purpose flour and salt. 🙂