Mini Brownie Cakes {Valentine Edition}
Simple. Fun. Love-ly! Looking for a sharable and kid-friendly sweet treat that will please even your pickiest guest? My Mini Brownie Cakes are a delightful cross between a fudgy brownie and a raspberry frosted cupcake for the ultimate, rich, and creamy dessert!
Ingredients
Mini Brownie Cakes
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter measured cold, then melted
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar densely packed into measuring cup
- 1/3 cup Cocoa unsweetened
- 2 Eggs large, room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour scooped into measuring cup and levelled with a knife
- 1/2 tsp Instant Espresso powder
- 1/2 tsp Flaked Salt
- 1/2 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate (chips or roughly chopped) optional
Raspberry Buttercream
- 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 3 cups Icing Sugar
- 1/4 cup Freeze Dried Raspberry Powder
- 3 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1 tsp Flaked Salt
Instructions
Mini Brownie Cakes
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix melted butter with sugars and cocoa powder.
- Add vanilla, and eggs to your mixture. Whisk, whisk, and whisk some more! (note: the more you whisk the sugars with the egg - the more crackly your brownie surface will be after baking!)
- Add flour, espresso powder, and salt. Mix until all flour has been incorporated. Mixture will resemble a thick, glossy, paste. Mix in your semi-sweet chocolate (as desired).
- Equally distribute brownie mixture into 12 lined cupcake moulds.
- Prepare 12 x 1/2" tin foil spheres (note: I do this by cutting an approximately 3"x6" rectangle out of tinfoil and crumpling it into a ball. This is a rough measure! No need to be precise here :).
- Place one tinfoil ball between the cupcake mould and paper liner of each of the 12 cupcake moulds. The placement of each ball should create a heart appearance.
- Bake brownie cakes into a preheated oven for 18-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre shows moist crumbs attached (note: the brownies will continue to bake in the cupcake pan after removing from the oven so having a bit of batter on the toothpick is fine! Just make sure the edges are set). Cool in a cupcake tin until firm enough to be held with one hand and then cool completely on wire rack.
- Clean/dry your large bowl and you are ready to prepare your frosting while the cupcakes are cooling!
Raspberry Buttercream
- In your large bowl with an electric mixer set to low speed, beat softened butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar until smooth and silky (1-2 min)
- Increase mixer speed to medium and gradually add remaining powdered sugar. Beat for an additional minute, then add 1 tbsp of heavy cream to the frosting. Continue to beat on medium speed.
- Add freeze-dried raspberry powder and mix to combine. Finally, 2 additional tbsp of heavy cream and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy.
- Add frosting to piping bag, decorate each cupcake with frosting, and top with sprinkles! (note: this icing forms a crust quickly so add your sprinkles fairly soon after frosting each cupcake).
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Sofia's Tips:
- You can control whether these brownie cakes are more brownie-like or cake-like with a few less or a few more minutes in the oven!
- This frosting quickly forms a crust after being piped so if hoping to add sprinkles – try to do this right after frosting each brownie cake!
- This recipe freezes well stacked between sheets of parchment in an airtight freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!