Crimson Velvet Cake, However Make It a Brownie—and Do not Maintain Again on the Cream Cheese Frosting

If you happen to’re a fan of basic crimson velvet cake however need one thing simpler to make and with much more cream cheese frosting—arguably the very best factor about crimson velvet cake—we have got simply the recipe for you. These crimson velvet brownies—a genius recipe that mixes the very best of each worlds—comes by means of our Birmingham, Alabama-based check kitchen colleague Julia Levy. Topped with a tangy frosting, laced with bittersweet cocoa powder, and flavored with wealthy white chocolate, these brownies style like a fudgier model of basic crimson velvet cake. Plus: You don’t need to bake, stack, and frost a whole cake.

Historically, crimson velvet cake is made with pure cocoa powder and an acid like vinegar. As Critical Eats contributor Brian Levy touched on in his crimson velvet cake recipe, pure cocoa powder accommodates increased ranges of anthocyanins—water-soluble pigments present in purplish-red meals like beets and blueberries—than Dutch-processed cocoa powder. When these anthocyanins come into contact with an acid like vinegar, they flip crimson, producing the signature mahogany hue we so affiliate with crimson velvet cake. The vinegar in conventional crimson velvet cake additionally reacts with leaveners like baking soda, serving to the cake to rise. Within the case of those brownies, there are not any leaveners, however the vinegar nonetheless gives a refined tang that is a signature of crimson velvet cake. The cocoa powder additionally brings a pleasant trace of bitter chocolate taste. 

One key ingredient in these brownies that you just will not discover within the typical crimson velvet cake is white chocolate. In creating this recipe, Julia first examined it with all cocoa powder, then with cocoa powder and melted semisweet chocolate, and at last with cocoa powder and white chocolate. The primary check, with all cocoa powder, produced one thing that tasted good however was too cakey to be referred to as a brownie. The second check, with added semisweet chocolate chips, produced a brownie with the perfect fudginess, and whereas it was scrumptious, the chocolate taste was stronger than what she was on the lookout for. The ultimate check with a mix of cocoa powder and white chocolate proved to be the candy spot, with simply the correct quantity of fudginess you need in a brownie and a balanced taste.

Although many individuals don’t consider white chocolate as “actual” chocolate, it’s, in actual fact, chocolate. In his information to white chocolate, former Critical Eats editor Max Falkowitz explains: “Darkish chocolate is a suspension of cocoa solids, sugar, emulsifiers, and flavorings like vanilla in cocoa butter. White chocolate merely swaps out the cocoa solids for milk solids, however it’s nonetheless loaded with cocoa butter.” Cocoa solids include the bittersweet flavors we affiliate with milk or darkish sweets; as a result of white chocolate doesn’t include any cocoa solids, it has a extra refined taste. In Levy’s recipe, the white chocolate enhances the bitterness of the unsweetened cocoa powder, and its mild coloration permits the crimson meals coloring to shine. Its abundance of fats additionally contributes to the wealthy taste and moist texture of the brownies. The general impact is a brownie that balances vanilla and chocolate flavors, however amps up the chocolatiness a bit greater than conventional crimson velvet cake, which is commonly described as having a “gentle” chocolate taste.

Then there’s the cream cheese frosting, which, as famous above, is arguably the very best a part of crimson velvet cake. Levy’s frosting comes collectively in a single bowl with the assistance of a hand mixer: All it’s important to do is beat softened cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, salt, and confectioners’ sugar collectively till it’s easy and creamy. Somewhat salt brings all of it collectively, and enhances the tartness of the cream cheese whereas additionally balancing the sweetness of the confectioners’ sugar. 

Every chew of those brownies is wealthy and fudgy and topped with ample frosting. They’re scrumptious no matter whether or not you’re sharing them with a Valentine, some buddies, or having fun with them by your self.

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