Fruitcake-Inspired Brownies Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Can you add frozen fruit to brownie mix? ›

For one, don't worry about thawing frozen cherries before adding them to the brownie batter as they defrost when baked in the oven. Dusting the frozen fruit in cornstarch or cocoa powder first is also a good idea as the powdery coating will prevent the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the pan.

Peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, Nutella, caramel sauce, or white or dark chocolate fudge all make great additions when swirled into the batter. To swirl you'll make your brownies as usual then pour them into your baking dish then add dollops of the sauce you want to swirl in.

If cooking your berries into a pie filling, you may need to add additional thickening agents because frozen berries tend to release more liquid than fresh and will lead to a runnier consistency. For best results in your baking, don't defrost the berries before use but instead toss them in flour.

For best quality, use frozen produce within 8 to 12 months of freezing, per the National Center for Home Food Preservation. If you're unable to use frozen fruits and vegetables within 12 months, they're still safe to use indefinitely, though the quality may be lower as time goes on.

They give brownies a lighter, drier, and more cake-like texture. If you prefer this over the chewy variety, then go ahead and crack in that additional egg. On the other hand, too many eggs will yield brownies that are hard, heavy, and tough.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

You can absolutely substitute butter for the vegetable oil. Use the same quantity specified in the directions (for example, if it calls for 1/3 cup of oil, use 5 1/3 tablespoons of butter). Melt it down, then let it cool a bit. You might not ever go back to oil!

Apparently, you can switch out the berries for any frozen fruit as well as switching the cake mix flavors. The original recipe I adapted this from used frozen mangoes and yellow cake mix. Yum! I'm, for sure, trying that soon and have already made a mental note to do frozen apples with butter pecan cake mix.

As a general rule, if you're going to cook or bake a recipe after adding frozen fruit, you can use it as a substitute. On the other hand, if the recipe usually calls for raw fruit, skip using frozen alternatives to retain the appropriate consistency.

Can you put frozen fruit right into your blender? Yes, you can put frozen fruit into your blender. Finely chop your fruit and vegetables for easier blending.

What can be added to brownie mix? ›

All the mix-ins

Experiment with pretzels, candy, or even potato chips (trust me, the salty crunch really is so good here) to add an extra boost of flavor and a crunchy texture. For a really fun addition that adds a ton of color, stir some strawberries or blueberries into the batter.