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PREP : 20 MIN | COOK : 40 MIN | TOTAL : 1 HOUR | SERVE : 6
These Cherry Brownies are everything you want them to be: fudgy, filled with roasted fresh cherries, and loaded with big puddles of chocolate chunks. A must-bake this summer during cherry season. Equally perfect to bake for Valentine’s Day if you have frozen cherries on hand!
Why you should try this recipe
- A heavenly flavor combo between roasted cherry and intense double chocolate brownies. Need I say more?!
- With the fudgiest texture – slightly underbaked, these brownies melt in your mouth.
- Another “fancy-but-not-too-fancy” dessert to add to your collection, along with Chocolate Loaf Cake with Chocolate Almond Glaze and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Lava Cakes. These brownies are ideal to make in the summer months during the cherry season but also all year long (hello Valentine’s Day!) using frozen cherries.
The ingredients you’ll need
- Fresh cherries – when in season, I always use fresh cherries. To make this recipe all year long, use thawed frozen cherries and follow the recipe as written.
- Dutch process cocoa powder – creates a bold chocolate flavor and rich fudgy texture.
- Unsalted butter – for a delicious buttery taste and to create the perfect texture.
- Light brown sugar (granulated sugar works too) – brings a subtle caramel touch.
- Free-range eggs – act as a binding agent in this recipe.
- Pure vanilla extract – for a subtle vanilla flavor and depth of flavor.
- All-purpose flour – for the texture.
- Salt – to enhance the brownies’ flavors.
- Bittersweet dark chocolate (either bar or chocolate chips) – creates the double-“chocolateness”! I love finding big chunks/puddles of chocolate in my brownies, this is why I am using a chopped chocolate bar, but chocolate chips work too! 70% cacao content is always what I aim for.
Substitutions and Variations
- Using frozen cherries instead of fresh cherries is ideal to make this recipe all year long. Just thaw the cherries according to the package instructions and follow the recipe as written.
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder can be replaced by unsweetened cocoa powder. Just note that the chocolate taste will be a bit less earthy and intense. For more information about Dutch Process Cocoa Powder in baking, check out this great article.
- Bittersweet baking chocolate: I like bittersweet baking chocolate for its intensity. However, feel free to substitute with semisweet baking chocolate (both baking chocolate or chocolate chips) if need be.
- Make these brownies gluten-free by swapping all-purpose flour with the same amount of gluten-free baking flour mix of your choice.
The essential pieces of equipment to make this recipe
To make this recipe, you’ll need a mixer (either hand or stand mixer) and a zester.
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How to make Cherry Brownies?
Start by roasting the cherries:
- Preheat the oven to 410°F (210°C).
- Thoroughly rinse the cherries and pat them dry with a kitchen cloth.
- Cut the cherries in half, remove the pits, and transfer to a sheet pan or baking tray.
- Roast the cherries for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Make the brownie batter:
- Turn the heat of the oven down to 355°F (180°C).
- Using a mixing bowl and a hand mixer or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt.
- Beat the mixture on high speed until fluffy in texture and lightened in color, about 5 minutes.
Note: this step helps create the fudgy brownies texture, try not to skip it!
- Add the melted butter and keep whisking until combined, about 20 seconds.
- Sift the Dutch process cocoa powder and flour together.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold until combined (do not overwork the batter).
- Add the chopped dark chocolate and roasted cherries to the mixture (keep a small handful of both to sprinkle on top of the brownies).
Bake the brownies:
- Line a 9×9-inch (22×22 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper:
- Simply cut two sheets of parchment just slightly thinner than the width of the baking pan. Then, line them crossways so the bottoms and sides of the pan are lined with an overhang on all sides, as shown in the picture below.
Note: We want these brownies to be slightly underbaked, which means they are not easy to remove from the pan. Overhangs of parchment paper are important to be able to remove them without any fuss.
- Transfer the batter to the pan, spreading it evenly with a spatula.
- Add the remaining chopped chocolate and cherries on top.
- Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes.
- Then, using the overhangs of parchment paper, remove them from the pan and onto a cooling rack (otherwise, the residual heat of the pan will continue to cook them).
- Let them cool down completely, and enjoy!
Nim Keys – Useful Tips
- Thoroughly whisk sugar and eggs – whisking sugar and eggs for 5 minutes with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) is what creates a fudgy, glossy texture. Try not to skip it!
- Use a metal baking pan – metal yield the best result in terms of texture. If using a glass or ceramic baking pan, add 10-15 minutes as they will take longer to bake.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper – fudgy brownies will break if removed from a greased baking pan. The parchment paper overhangs really help remove the brownies from the pan while keeping their structure intact.
- Do not overbake the brownies – for the fudgiest texture, brownies should be slightly underbaked (if you insert a toothpick, moist fudgy breadcrumbs should come out of it).
FAQ
These brownies can be kept on the counter covered with clingfilm for up to 2 days.
Yes! Let them cool down completely and place them in a ziplock or freezer-friendly container and into the freezer. To defrost: let them thaw overnight in the fridge. To enjoy them warm: place them in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 2-3 minutes.
An 8-inch (20 cm) round pan will do the trick.
I haven’t tested it myself, but I do think this recipe would work well with gluten-free flour! As we don’t want brownies to rise (fudgy texture is what we are looking for), the type of flour is not critical in this recipe. Just replace the all-purpose flour with the same amount of gluten-free baking flour.
Other Delicious Chocolate Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you make this recipe!
Recipe
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Fudgy Cherry Brownies (with Fresh Cherries)
These Cherry Brownies are everything you want them to be: fudgy, filled with roasted fresh cherries, and loaded with big puddles of chocolate chunks. A must-bake this summer during cherry season. Equally perfect to bake for Valentine’s Day if you have frozen cherries on hand!
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
2 and ½ cups (300 g) of fresh cherries (or thawed frozen cherries)
1 cup (200 g) of light brown sugar (granulated sugar works too)
4 free-range eggs
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon of flaky sea salt
¾ cup (190 g) of unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup (75 g) of Dutch process cocoa powder
½ cup (75 g) of all-purpose flour
7 ounces (200 g) bittersweet dark chocolate, roughly chopped
Instructions
Start by roasting the cherries:
- Preheat the oven to 410°F (210°C).
- Thoroughly rinse the cherries and pat them dry with a kitchen cloth.
- Cut the cherries in half, remove the pits, and transfer to a sheet pan or baking tray.
- Roast the cherries for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Make the brownie batter:
- Turn the heat of the oven down to 355°F (180°C).
- Using a mixing bowl and a hand mixer or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Beat the mixture on high speed until fluffy in texture and lightened in color, about 5 minutes.
- Add the melted butter and keep whisking until combined about 20 seconds.
- Sift the Dutch process cocoa powder and flour together.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold until combined (do not overwork the batter).
- Add the chopped dark chocolate and roasted cherries to the mixture (keep a small handful of both to sprinkle on top of the brownies).
Bake the brownies:
- Line a 9×9-inch (22×22 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper (see instructions in the post).
- Transfer the batter to the pan, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Add the remaining chopped chocolate and cherries on top.
- Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
- Remove them from the pan and onto a cooling rack and let them cool down completely. Enjoy!
Nim Keys
- Thoroughly whisk sugar and eggs – whisking sugar and eggs for 5 minutes with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) is what creates a fudgy, glossy texture. Try not to skip it!
- Use a metal baking pan – metal yield the best result in terms of texture. If using a glass or ceramic baking pan, add 10-15 minutes as they will take longer to bake.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper – fudgy brownies will break if removed from a greased baking pan. The parchment paper overhangs really help remove the brownies from the pan while keeping their structure intact.
- Do not overbake the brownies – for the fudgiest texture, brownies should be slightly underbaked (if you insert a toothpick, moist fudgy breadcrumbs should come out of it).
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cherry brownies, chocolate cherry brownies, fudgy brownies, cherry filled brownies, brownies with fresh cherries
Amazing.
Was surprised how the cherries merged well with the chocolate.
The cooking instructions as regards timing etc were excellent.
will definately make again.
we served with liquid cream but any other would do the job too.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for your kind words, Mary. Cherries and chocolate are such a great match, I agree! So glad you liked it!