Strawberry Brownies

Frosted strawberry brownie topped with a fresh strawberry half.

You'll love these delicious Strawberry Cake Mix Brownies because of their sweet strawberry flavor, they're easy-to-make with only 7 ingredients (make-ahead friendly, too), and have the best cream cheese frosting!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 225kcal

Author Anne Clark

Equipment

measuring cup(s)
measuring spoons
electric hand mixer
food processor

Ingredients

BROWNIES

8 tablespoon cold butter, cut into 8 equal pieces (8 tablespoon = 1 stick of butter)
15.25 oz box strawberry cake mix (I use Pillsbury Moist Supreme)
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 oz cream cheese, softened·
1 cup 1 cup powdered sugar
fresh strawberries - some for the frosting and some for garnish

Instructions

Brownies

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x9-inch pan with parchment paper, letting the longer edges hang over the sides. Lightly spray bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large microwave safe bowl, add the butter chunks. Cook on high for 30 seconds to soften the butter. If more time is needed, add additional 10-second increments until the butter is softened. The butter does not have to be completely melted but be soft enough to blend. Don't let the butter boil.
Add the cake mix, sugar, and eggs. Blend on low with an electric mixer just until blended (less than 1 minute). FYI the mixture will be thick.
Evenly spread the batter into the pan. Smooth it out as best you can.
Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the brownies – the key to a fudgy brownie is to remove them right before the edges start to turn brown. For my oven, that was at the 20-minute mark, but your oven may cook slightly different. You can test for doneness when a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of the brownies comes out clean with no gooey batter stuck on it.
Place the baking pan on a cooling rack and let it cool for 5 minutes; then lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper handles. Place the brownies onto the cooling rack to completely cool off.

Cream Cheese Frosting

When the brownies are cooled off, make the strawberry frosting: Puree 3-4 strawberries in a food processor (the strawberries should be in very small pieces). Place 1 tablespoon of strawberry puree, cream cheee, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Blend with an electric mixture until nice and creamy.
Spread the frosting on top of the brownies. Cut into 16 squares. Garnish with fresh strawberries if desired. Enjoy your strawberry brownies!

Notes

You can skip the parchment paper but just be sure to give the pan a good spray with non-stick spray first.

Don't overmix the batter; this causes the brownies to get dry.

Don't overcook the brownies – the key to a moist brownie is to remove them right before the edges start to turn brown.

Use a food processor or food chopper to puree the fresh strawberries! This will bring out the natural liquid of the strawberries, making the frosting nice and creamy.

Store the cooled brownies in an airtight contaier in the refrigerator to keep the cream cheese frosting fresh.

Recipe Variations

Add-ins: white chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon strawberry extract or vanila extract in the batter.

Toppings: Top frosted brownies with multi-color sprinkles or pink and white sprinkles for Valentines' Day. Crumble freeze-dried strawberries on top of the frosted brownies. Sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy for a Christmas treat.

Substitutions

If fresh strawberries aren't available, you can use frozen strawberries. Puree them just the same as you would fresh ones.

Nutrition