red velvet brownies with white chocolate frosting

Confession: I really hate cream cheese frosting.

When I found this recipe for a red velvet dessert with white chocolate buttercream, I was ecstatic.  Typically all things red velvet have cream cheese frosting which I usually make and just opt out of eating the final results.  This actually is probably much better for my waistline and helps to counteract the copious amounts of chocolate I’ve been sneaking from my pantry.

These brownies are good for your soul, I promise.  I have been having a rough few weeks and after eating one of them (and lets be honest, the crumbs that fell off of them while they were cooling), I immediately felt better.

The extreme sweetness of the frosting pairs very well with the richness of the brownie.  They’re pretty easy to make too, but don’t be an idiot like me and dump them right out of the oven onto the wire cooling rack.  Thank goodness frosting will cover any mistakes of broken or cracked brownies 😉

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Frosting
recipe from How Sweet Eats

Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-½ cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon red or rose colored food gel**
⅔ cup chocolate chips or chunks

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8 x 8 cake pan and line with parchment paper.  Butter the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.  Whisk together until well combined and set aside.

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and beat until well incorporated.  Turn off the mixture and add in the food gel.  At a very slow speed, mix in the food gel and once incorporated beat at a high speed for another minute or two.  Stir in the flour mixture until well combined, but do not over mix.  Gently stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread in pan and cut off any excess parchment paper that is hanging over.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Let cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
4 ounces of good quality white chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Gharadelli)

Directions

Cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla.  Add the powdered sugar with the mixer at low speed.  Once incorporated, pour in the white chocolate.  Mix slowly at first, and then beat on high speed for a minute or two.  Add the milk starting with one tablespoon until you reach your desired consistency.  If the frosting becomes to loose, add additional powdered sugar.

**If you don’t have food gel, click the link to the original recipe because it gives instructions how to make the brownies with regular food dye.  I prefer to use food gel because it gives a much more intense color.  I actually used rose-colored food gel because I was out of red.