These ridiculously good Chocolate Cherry Brownies combine the richness of chocolate with the sweetness of cherries. A classic flavour combination that works every time. These gooey, fudgey brownies will have you sneaking a second before you know it!
Brownies for the win
Why is it that brownies are one of the most popular treats out there? I swear, the minute these go in the oven the kids come flocking like seagulls.
The inevitable question of “Are they ready yet’ follows. And once the brownies come out of the oven I have to bat little prying fingers away with a wooden spoon!
The lure of of the crispy top and gooey centre is often too much. Especially with my kids. It takes the patience of a saint to wait until they’re sufficiently cooled to be able to cut them into decent looking squares!
The trick is to cut the brownies when cooled enough to hold their shape, yet still warm and gooey in the middle. Topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and this is my version of dessert heaven!
Team cake v team fudgey?
The are two camps when it comes to the texture of brownies. Which one are you?
Brownies with a cake-like texture
So the brownies in team cake have a lighter, fluffier consistency when baked, much like that of a cake. The butter and sugar are beaten until pale and fluffy, then lightly beaten eggs are added to the mixture.
The dry ingredients are then gently folded into the batter so as not to knock the air out. There’s also a higher amount of flour and the resulting brownies have a more of a sponge-like centre once baked and hold their shape a lot better.
Brownies with that fudgey consistency
The trick to getting this gooey denser type of brownie is by leaving out a leavening agent. We do this in two ways. Firstly the butter and sugar isn’t beaten to trap air. Secondly there’s no baking powder in such a recipe. The omission of this makes for a denser, gooier centre.
Martha Stewart explains the difference between the two well in this article: found here.
How to make these Chocolate Cherry Brownies
Before we get into the set-by-step method I want to address the addition of the cherries. Chocolate and cherries and always a perfect flavour pairing. The richness of the chocolate compliments the sweet, moistness of the cherries.
Now I made these brownies when cherries were out of season. So I used tinned black cherries. For you purists who only like to use fresh fruit in your baking, then by all means wait until cherry season. De-stone fresh cherries and pop this babies right into the batter before baking.
But I love chocolate and cherries together and quite frankly didn’t want to wait until I saw them at the fruit stall in the market. These tinned cherries worked perfectly!
Step-by-step making of these brownies
- We need to melt the butter, chocolate and sugar together. We do this by using a bain marie. Place a bowl that can sit snuggly over a saucepan of boiling water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t come into contact with the boiling water though. Then add the ingredients and stir until the chocolate and sugar are fully melted. Then set to one side.
- In a separate bowl whisk the dry ingredients together. That’s the flour, cocoa powder and salt, and then set to one side.
- Time to beat the eggs. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the eggs until pale and fluffy. Doing this helps create that shiny, crackly top on the brownies. Then pour in the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract into the beaten eggs and mix until combined.
- Next add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Last step is to fold in the dark chocolate chips and cherries. I choose to fold them in gently as I want the tinned cherries to retain their shape in the batter.
- Finally pour the batter into your brownie pan and smooth before sprinkling some extra choc chips over the top.
- Bake between 20-25 minutes. These are the gooey fudge type brownies and we definitely don’t want to over bake these. I would set your timer for 20 minutes and do the toothpick test. If you stick it in and there’s wet batter on the toothpick then the brownies need a bit more time.
- When baked you can by all means eat the brownies straight out of the tin. But I prefer to allow them to cool for 20 minutes before lifting them out of the tin and then cutting into squares. They’ll still be warm and gooey, so if you’d prefer more structure to them when cutting then allow them to cool completely.
For other delicious home-made bar recipes check out these:
Browned Butter White Chocolate Blondies. Recipe found here.
Chocolate Raspberry Crumble Bars. Recipe found here.
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Gooey, rich, fudge-like double chocolate cherry brownies that are best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Oh yeah – your chocolate dreams just came true!
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cherry Brownies
200g (1 1/4 cups) dark chocolate, chopped
200g (1 cup and 1 tablespoon) butter, unsalted
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g (3/4 cups) plain flour
50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
120g (3/4 cup) dark chocolate chips plus a tbsp to sprinkle on top.
Instructions
- Turn the oven on to 180C and line a 22cm square brownie tin with parchment paper (this will make it easier for you to remove the brownies once cooled)
- Using a bain marie (Bowl sat snuggly over a saucepan of boiling water. Note: don’t let the water touch the bottom of the bowl). Place the butter, chopped chocolate and caster sugar into the bowl and stir until melted.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder and salt and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, with an electric beater or stand mixer, beat the eggs until pale and fluffy. Add the chocolate/butter/sugar mixture and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and cherries.
- Pour into the prepared brownie tin and smooth flat. Sprinkle the tablespoon of chocolate chips over the top and push down slightly. Set to one side for ten minutes.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. The edges should be firm but the centre should have a slight jiggle when shaken gently. Remove from the oven and place the tray on a wire rack and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Use the baking paper to gently lift the brownie out of the tin and then cut into squares.
- Stir the icing sugar and 2 tbsp of the cherry juice leftover from the tinned cherries and mix until combined. If the glaze is too thick then add a teaspoon of juice at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the chocolate brownies and serve! Enjoy!
Notes
1. Swap the white sugar with golden caster sugar and this adds depth of flavour.
2. Instead of cherries, add nuts such as walnuts or almonds to add a lovely crunch
3. Brownies freeze for up to 3 months. Freeze in individual squares and then when you fancy a treat, thaw a square over night in the fridge and bring to room temp or microwave to make warm before serving.
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