Chocolate Cherry Brownies

Gooey chocolate cherry brownies, rich and chocolaty, slightly uplifted by the tiny bits of juicy cherries, you will adore them! Using delicious cherries is a great idea for making seasonal, decadent brownies; this simple recipe is the best way to satisfy your sweet tooth in summer.

And if you like this sweet treat, check out the Tiramisu Brownies, Raspberry and White Chocolate Blondies, the Brownie Blondies Recipe, or the Easter Mini Egg Brownies (which can be made with M&M’s all year round).

Recipe ingredients

How to make cherry brownies from scratch?

Preparations: Preheat the oven. Grease and line a square 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper with an overhang on two sides. This helps remove the brownies from the tin once they are baked and cooled.

Cherries: Pit the fresh fruit using a pitter (1). Halve the cherries and set them aside. If using frozen fruit, it must be defrosted and patted dry. If using canned fruit, drain it well and pat it dry with paper towels. Thorough draining and drying are necessary to remove the excess liquid that might make the brownies too wet.

Prepare water bath: Chop the chocolate and cut the butter into small cubes. Place them in a small heatproof bowl. Fill a pan with hot water, about a quarter full. Place the heatproof bowl on top, and make sure that its bottom doesn’t touch the water.

Melt the chocolate and the butter on very low heat, stirring, until the mixture is perfectly smooth (2). Alternatively, microwave on high on 30-second bursts, stirring in between. It will take 1 to 1 ½ minutes. Leave to cool slightly while you whisk the egg and sugar mixture.

Whisk the eggs and the white and brown sugar with a hand mixer until thicker and creamy (3).

Mix flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt, and cocoa powder in a separate bowl. Stir 2 tablespoons of oil into the melted butter-chocolate mixture. Add the chocolate and the flour mixture to the beaten sugar and eggs. Mix in shortly on high speed. Fold in the cherries (4).

Bake: Pour batter into the prepared tin (5) and bake for 24-28 minutes, depending on how you like them (6).

Cool: Place the tin on a wire rack and let cool completely. Lift the chocolatey brownies out using the overhung parchment paper, cut them into squares, and serve.

How to tell if the brownies are done?

It depends very much on your oven and how juicy the fruit is.

Shake the tin gently; if the brownie batter still wobbles in the middle, it’s not entirely done yet. Bake for another 3-4 minutes and check again. The top should have a slightly papery crust.

If you bake the cherry brownies for about 24 minutes, they will be very moist and gooey, especially in the middle. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake will come out rather wet.

After about 25-26 minutes, they will be a bit more set/fudgier, so you can eat them without smearing your face and fingers too much. A toothpick inserted in the middle will have some smears on it.

More than that, they will be somewhat cakey but soft and delicious. A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out relatively clean with a few moist crumbs.

How to store?

Refrigerate in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Don’t leave them at room temperature for more than one or two days. I would typically not refrigerate brownies, but due to the cherries, they would spoil much faster if left outside the fridge, especially if the weather is hot.
Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature.

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