Red Velvet Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

These red velvet cream cheese swirl brownies are like a slice of red velvet cake in brownie form.

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From the moment I saw these red velvet cream cheese swirl brownies on Baked Perfection I knew I had to make them. Of course when I showed the picture to others their immediate reaction was to ask when I was going to make these goodies for them. Which brings me to tonight, tripling the batch! It took 9 eggs!

My first synopsis: I wish that the brownie layer were more dense. I prefer a less cakey brownie (I wonder if the larger batch size affected the consistency), but the flavor was spot on. Also, I would use more cream cheese next time. This desire could be due to the fact that I cannot get enough cream cheese frosting on my red velvet cake. It’s like ice cream!

Maybe next time I will add pecans! I <3 nuts in my brownies, and usually top red velvet cake with pecans so it seems as though it would work wonderfully in these. If you’re feeling extra sinful, top with your favorite cream cheese frosting.

Fast forward 15 years and the next time I made these red velvet cream cheese swirl brownies I actually decided to keep the recipe as is and made one batch for testing purposes. Hopefully you all know your multiplication tables and can figure it out yourself if you would like to increase your batch size ;-).

I do believe that tripling the recipe resulted in some of my previous qualms with this recipe as it came out much better this time around. Not only was it less cakey, I thought it had just the right amount of cream cheese. Although I still would love to try them with pecans mixed in.

I will admit, they are still a bit more cakey that I would prefer, making me wonder if the recipe actually needs more butter. Maybe one day I will tinker with them more, but for now, I seem to be the only one not 100% satisfied as they disappeared as fast as they did the last time I made them!

RED VELVET CREAM CHEESE SWIRL BROWNIES

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Yield: 16 Servings Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 Tbsp red food coloring
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup flour
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan, and set aside.
2. For the brownie layer, add melted butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions.
3. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix.
4. Fold in the flour until lightly combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.
6. For the cream cheese layer, blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
7. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan.
8. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer.
9. Using a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern.
10. Bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

Source: Baked Perfection, adapted from Food Network.

Post updated 2/10/2025, photo above is the original.