Cream Cheese Brownie Recipe with Strawberries (2024)

FAQs

Can you leave cream cheese brownies out overnight? ›

For items with a large amount of cream cheese, like cheesecake, it's best to refrigerate after baking to prevent bacterial overgrowth and food poisoning. Other items, like brownies and cookies, that only have a small amount of cream cheese don't need to be refrigerated, since the flour and sugar absorb excess moisture.

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.

Brownies are known for their moist and fudgy texture, which is usually achieved by the combination of: Fat: Butter or oil provides moisture and helps create a tender texture. Sugar: Adds moisture and contributes to the overall sweetness. Eggs: Binds the ingredients and adds moisture to the batter.

Fillings and toppings should be kept refrigerated." It also states, "Dessert containing cream cheese, whether baked or unbaked, should be covered and stored in the refrigerator. Use within 5 days."

Brownies don't need to be refrigerated, but they'll hold up a few more days if they are. Unless your brownies include more perishable ingredients like fresh fruit or cream cheese frosting, they'll be fine at room temperature as long as they're stored in an airtight container.

If you opt to add more eggs, say double the amount, something interesting happens. Even though you are adding more moisture, the air bubbles that you catch in the extra eggs add volume, which decreases the density of your final product. This makes your brownies rise and gives them a much more cake-like texture.

Adding a layer of cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, caramel, or peanut butter goes a long way towards turning a mix into something special. You can add this layer before or after baking the brownies.

Instead of adding in the recommended amount of water, substitute it for milk to give the batter a slightly different consistency. Milk is richer than water, so the brownies will be richer, and they'll be denser, like fudge.

Give your brownies some extra flavor by adding chopped candy bars to the mix. Whether it's peanut butter cups, peppermint patties, or nutty chocolate bars, adding your leftover Halloween candy (or whatever holiday candy you have laying around) will make your brownies over-the-top good.

Can I use heavy cream instead of milk in brownie mix? ›

Yes, you can often substitute heavy whipping cream for milk or half-and-half in baking recipes. Keep in mind that heavy cream has a higher fat content, so it might result in a richer texture and flavor.

Heavy cream is a great substitute for milk in a baking recipe, but it does need to be diluted slightly. Because heavy cream boasts a fat content of 36% to 40%, using a half cup of heavy cream mixed with a half cup of water will be your best bet for replacing one cup of milk.

The reason we melt butter in brownie recipes instead of beating room temperature butter with sugar is because that helps give a rich, chewy, fudgy texture. Beating butter incorporates air and gives a more light, airy, cakey texture, which we don't want in a brownie.

If you want a fudgy chocolate brownie, use melted butter. For cakey brownies, beating softened butter and sugar together to create air pockets will make your brownies lighter and cakier.

Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.

Test Kitchen Tip

When you have cheesecake that's already baked and chilled, the absolute max time you could let it sit out to avoid the USDA's "danger zone" is two hours.

Brownies can be kept at room temperature for up to five days for most brownie types. A cheesecake swirl or frosting or a ganache frosting should not be kept at room temperature. Store brownies in the fridge if they contain add-ins that are normally refrigerated.

At room temperature, cream cheese frosting only lasts two hours, which is why it needs to be refrigerated if you don't want to waste leftovers. Cream cheese frosting will usually last in the refrigerator for up to a week, which gives you plenty of time to use it on various baked goods.

Fast: On a Plate

Place the cream cheese on a plate. Let the cream cheese sit in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until it has softened. Gently poke to know whether the cream cheese has reached the desired temperature.