Black Forest Brownies Recipe
Do you love Black forest cake? You'll love this Black Forest Brownies Recipe which creates unbelievably chocolatey, thick and fudgy brownies with a black forest flavour throughout. Topped with fresh cream, cherries and Kirsch syrup this brownies are a decadent treat!
The decadent brownies are made from scratch and when paired with the cherry filling and whipped cream it makes for a delicious fudgy black forest treat. Black Forest Cake originated in Germany and has since been transformed into many different dessert recipes such as cupcakes and brownies. It gets its unmistakable flavor from the Kirsch (Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser).
Did you know that in Germany you can’t call a cake Black Forest unless it contains Kirsch?! If you can’t source Kirsch then it’s fine to use a cherry liquor instead. The flavour profile is very similar.
Black Forest Brownie vs Black Forest Cake
Black Forest Brownies are a new favourite treat in our family. Not only does it have all that fudgy, chocolate goodness with cherries throughout and whipping cream on top but it's easier to take to any gathering. Way easier to transport than a Black Forest Cake and for the cake decorating challenged like myself, easier to "decorate" if you will!
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Just like with a Black Forest Cake I love the pairing of the rich chocolate, sweet cherries and whipped cream, oh my. It's a decadent and delicious treat that makes my mouth water. Dare I say I actually like it better than the cake.
This recipe for black forest brownies as mentioned is way easier to create than than assembling layers of cake and filling. However, not only is it still a delicious dessert it can also look "dressed up" if you will with dark chocolate shavings, whipped cream and topped with another sweet cherry for each brownie.
Fresh, Frozen or Canned Cherries?
We tested the cherry sauce using fresh, frozen and canned cherries. We found the fresh cherries made the best consistency sauce, but this recipe works very well with frozen or canned cherries too. If using frozen cherries don’t add water when you cook the cherry sauce. The sauce should have a thick syrup-like consistency. If after cooking for 5 minutes the cherry sauce looks too watery simmer it for a few more minutes. Adding the Kirsch at the end means you don’t burn the alcohol off.
This Black Forest Brownie also tastes yummy with a scoop of ice cream like vanilla or if you really love chocolate, a scoop of chocolate ice cream. It's a tasty combination of an easy to make dessert that is decadent.
Recipe for Black Forest Brownies
Let's get to this delicious recipe so you can enjoy a Black Forest Brownie! Make sure to check out all of our tips for making this recipe for black forest brownies!
Black Forest Brownies Recipe
Do you love Black forest cake? You'll love these easier to make Black Forest Brownies are unbelievably chocolatey, thick and fudgy brownies with a black forest flavour throughout. Topped with fresh cream, cherries and Kirsch syrup this brownies are a decadent treat!
Ingredients
For the cherry sauce
- 3 cups pitted and halved cherries (fresh, frozen or canned - see notes)
- ⅓ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon Kirsch (or cherry liquor)
For the brownies
- 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup dark brown soft sugar
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks, chips or chopped chocolate
For topping
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream/whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 12 fresh cherries
- 2 squares bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the cherry filling: Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add the cherries, sugar and water. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes or until the cherries start to break down and the liquid looks syrup-like. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Kirsch and set aside to cool.
Line an 8-inch square pan with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 350ºF.- Make the brownie batter: Melt the chopped chocolate and cubed butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, brown sugar, white sugar and vegetable oil. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is a pale yellow and doubled in size.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla extract into the egg mixture. Use a spatula to fold the ingredients together in large looping movements.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Use the spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until a thick brownie batter has formed. Tip in the chocolate chunks and fold through. Strain most of the syrup from the cherry sauce for drizzling later.
- Add half of the brownie mixture to the prepared baking pan.
Spoon over half of the cherry sauce and swirl gently with a knife. Add the remaining half of the brownie batter and the rest of the cherry sauce but don’t swirl this time. (You may wish to reserve some of the cherry sauce to use as topping instead of fresh cherries) - Bake in the center of the oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until
the edges of the brownies are baked. It is ok if the middle of the brownies don’t look set. (See notes) Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the pan. - When the brownies have cooled, remove from the pan and slice
into 12 equal squares. - Put the heavy cream and powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until soft peaks.
- Dollop the whipped cream on top of each brownie, sprinkle
over the finely chopped chocolate. Add a fresh cherry to the top of each and drizzle over the syrup. - Enjoy!
Notes
- If you can’t source Kirsch then it’s fine to use a cherry liquor instead. The flavor profile is very similar.
- You can use all white sugar if you don’t have dark brown soft sugar.
- You can omit the vegetable oil however we have found adding a small amount of vegetable oil yields a more fudge like texture.
- The bake time is specified as 35 to 40 minutes. You could reduce the time to 30 minutes if you like very underdone brownies but this will make them difficult to cut. 35 minutes is the sweet spot in our oven and this produces brownies that are soft and fudgy in the center with a crispy edge. If you bake for 40 minutes they will be more set and have texture similar to a dense chocolate cake. The longer you bake brownies for the more risk you have of drying them out.
- Leave the brownies to cool for at least 2 hours before you attempt to remove them from the pan and slice them. You can put them in the refrigerator during this time which makes them easier to cut. It’s best to bring the brownies back to room temperature before eating them.
- We stabilised the whipped cream by adding powdered sugar. When you whip the cream stop just before you think it is at soft peaks so that you can dollop it on top of the brownies and it stays nice and soft.
- Storage: Black Forest Brownies will keep well for 3 days however once you add the fresh cream topping they are best eaten immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 595Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 141mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 5gSugar: 52gProtein: 7g
Please note that we can not guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information. They are a best guess calculation.
Storage: Black Forest Brownies will keep well for 3 days however once you add the fresh cream topping they are best eaten immediately.
The fresh cherries are definitely the best for the sauce! This is a great cake and I’ll have to try the brownie form!
A favorite cake of mine and I have not had it for ages.
This is the perfect dessert for anyone in my family. We all love chocolate and cherries.