Strawberry Brownies

Channel your inner Glinda the Good Witch because these spellbinding strawberry brownies are pretty in pink, unapologetically charming, and ready to steal the spotlight at any Valentine's Day celebration. Made from scratch with fresh strawberries and decorated with white chocolate-strawberry ganache, these beauties might sound complicated, but trust me—they’re simple!

How To Make Strawberry Brownies

INGREDIENTS

• Strawberry Puree: Our simple strawberry puree is made with just a little sugar, a zingy pop of lemon juice and zest, a pinch of salt (to keep these brownies from erring too sweet), and the all important strawberries. Either fresh or frozen strawberries will work here, but if you are making these during strawberry season I highly recommend you select fresh strawberries. If you want to skip making the puree, you can swap in store-bought jarred strawberry sauce (you'll need 1 1/2 cups), but the puree is really simple and takes just minutes to make.
• Brownies: The brownie batter is made with white chocolate melts, lending the brownies a rich, fudgy texture that might make chocolate brownies a little jealous. We also add a whole cup (!) of fresh strawberry puree, and just in case that wasn't enough strawberry flavor for you, we fold in pulverized freeze-dried strawberries for an extra punch of color and flavor. If you can’t find these in your local grocery, they’re readily available online, or feel free to omit altogether.
• Ganache: We top these blushing brownies with a beautiful white chocolate-strawberry ganache, which sounds fancy, but is actually incredibly simple to make. You could make this same ganache with dark chocolate if you prefer, which would maintain the lovely strawberry flavor, but would sacrifice the pink color for a moodier vibe. Be sure to let your ganache and brownies cool completely before icing, or else you’ll end up with a melty (but still superb!) mess.
• Strawberries: You can use fresh or frozen strawberries in the strawberry puree—though I do recommend fresh—but for the garnish you’re definitely going to want to use fresh strawberries. The classic color and freshness take these brownies up another notch to a new dessert favorite.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

The first thing we need to do is to make the strawberry puree. Cook down the strawberries, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice, stirring occasionally until the strawberries begin to macerate, then continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens to a jam-like consistency. This process should take around 15 to 20 minutes. Then stir in the lemon zest and a pinch of salt to balance out the flavor with some acid and sodium, and remove the puree from the heat.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and pulse until smooth, then set aside and let cool. Next, prep the landing and oven by preheating the oven and lining a baking pan with parchment paper. In a heatproof bowl, microwave butter and chocolate melts in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until the chocolate mixture is completely melted and smooth. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg, egg yolk, sugar, and freeze-dried strawberries until mixture becomes light and airy. Add in some of the puree and vanilla and beat to combine, and once homogenous, beat in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Switch to the paddle attachment, add the dry ingredients, and beat to combine, then beat in the food coloring, a drop at a time, until you have reached your desired color.

Pour the pink brownie batter into the prepared baking pan. Pop the brownie batter into the hot oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until the edges have lightly browned and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the brownies from the oven and set them aside to cool as we make the ganache.

To make the ganache, place chocolate melts in a large heatproof bowl, then heat cream in a small saucepan until steaming and just starting to simmer. Remove the cream from the heat and pour into the heatproof bowl, letting the chocolate melts and heated cream sit undisturbed for a full minute, then stir until smooth. Add in the strawberry puree and mix until combined, then set aside to cool.

Spread the cooled ganache evenly onto the cooled brownies, then cut into pieces before arranging the sliced strawberries on top.

If you really want to take these over the top, sprinkle on even more of the freeze-dried strawberry powder before digging in.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Master the coulis: Making a fruit puree like this, or a “coulis,” is a fundamental pastry skill that will elevate all of your baking endeavors and is endlessly customizable. You could make these brownies with any of your favorite berries, using the same measurements listed here.
• For a smoother puree, you can pass it through a fine-mesh sieve: Be sure to let your puree cool completely before adding it to the batter. You can speed up the cooling process by placing it in a heatproof container (for example, a metal bowl) then partially submerging that bowl in an ice bath, stirring occasionally.

Storage

Because we’re topping these with fresh strawberries, we recommend storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you forego the fresh strawberry decoration (you could use sprinkles or freeze-dried strawberry crumbles instead), you can store these at room temperature.