These delicious, old-school, diner-style frosted brownies are perfect for when you need a little chocolate therapy, as they are a double dose of chocolate goodness!
These delicious brownies with frosting are a classic brownie – full of chocolate, dense, nutty (if you like) and topped with a rich chocolate frosting. They are not too moist, but also not too dry. They are not cake-y, but also not fudge-y. They are the middle ground of the brownie spectrum. If you are craving a brownie with icing, these will definitely hit the spot!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chocolate – dark chocolate is specified and block dark baking chocolate is the best option. You could also use blocks of semi-sweet baking chocolate here. Dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips will also be fine.
Walnuts – If you don’t like or can’t eat nuts, then you can easily omit them. If you don’t like walnuts, pecans would be a nice substitute. Otherwise, while I don’t often put nuts in my brownies, I do like them in this type of brownie. It adds a nice contrast to the chocolate and a nice flavour, overall.
Recipe Tips
Do be careful not to over-bake the brownies. I heard once that as soon as you can smell the brownies cooking, you should start checking and I think that’s pretty sound advice. You want to catch these ones when a tester comes out moist, with crumbs (as opposed to covered with liquid).
As for the frosting, this one’s heavy on chocolate and butter, and light on icing/confectioners’ sugar. That means it’s not cloyingly sweet and it’s fairly soft. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, increase the amount of icing sugar until it reaches the consistency you like. This will, of course, increase the sweetness of the frosting.
Making ahead, Storing and Freezing
Store these brownies covered at room temperature for a day or so. These brownies will also freeze well up to 2 months.
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Get the Recipe: Brownies with Frosting
Ingredients
Brownies:
- 5 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup butter, cubed
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Chocolate Frosting:
- 3 oz. dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, well softened
- 3/4 cup icing/confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. with rack in the centre of the oven. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and line with a piece of parchment paper, so that it hangs over two opposite sides. Set aside.
- In a bowl over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butter. Let cool.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs and white sugar until pale and doubled. At low speed, add the cooled chocolate mixture and flour and beat until smooth. With a spatula, stir in the walnuts.
- Pour the batter in to the prepared pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a crumbs and not completely clean. (*Do not over-bake. As soon as you can smell the brownies, start testing!). Let cool in pan.
- For frosting: Heat water in microwave or a small saucepan until boiling. Place finely chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a medium bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for 1 minute, without stirring, then, with a whisk, stir until the ganache is smooth. Add the butter and stir until completely melted. Let stand to cool for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, with an electric mixer (or transfer to a stand mixer), whip the ganache until smooth. Add the icing sugar and continue mixing. If necessary, add a bit more icing sugar until you have an icing that is "spreadable" (would leave marks and hold shape if spread with a knife). This will produce a spreadable, but soft icing. If you'd prefer something a little stiffer, add more icing sugar.
- Once brownies are cooled completely, remove from pan by running a knife along the bare end, then lift from the pan using the exposed parchment paper. Frost with frosting.
More Chocolate Treats to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Made these brownies on Wednesday, tried a small piece a couple of hours after pulling them out of the oven — I did not like that. So I allowed them to sit for a night and the brownies tasted amazing! However I attempted the frosting and it completely slipped my mind that it is possible to overbeat butter and so I was left with an unappetizing lumpy soup like mess. All in all, 5 stars to the brownie, maybe I’ll try the frosting once again some other time. Thank you for the delicious recipe, Jennifer!
Thanks Dia and yes, brownies only get better with age generally :)
These brownies looks awesome and the frosting is what caught my attention however in the list of ingredients it calls for boiling water but the instructions note cream … which is it and if it’s cream which I think it is, is it still 1/4 c. ?? Thanks.
Hi Linda, Sorry it is water and yes, 1/4 cup. Thanks for pointing out the confusion. Fixed now!
Yeeaaaa! Am looking forward to making these soon … they really do look incredible and I didn’t want to mess them up. Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
No problem :) Enjoy!
Delicious. I wish I could just reach through the screen;)
Thanks Valentina!
I am making these…this week! I must.
A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do :)
Hello! Excited to make these tonight! The instructions mention cream but I don’t see how much listed in the ingredients for the frosting! Thanks so much!!
Hi Christina. Sorry my mistake in writing it up. There’s just boiling water. Will fix recipe. Thanks for pointing it out.
GAH these are my ultimate weakness! I totally lived off a pan of these type of brownies for a weekend… I would say I am ashamed to admit that but let’s be honest, it was soooooo worth the indulgence!
Totally worth the indulgence, Meghan :)
Never had a frosted brownie before, love the way these look.
Thanks Cheri. You must try. Frosting is always good :)
ummm…I could definitely use a ‘midday brownie’ any day lol! these look simply gorgeous! YUM!
Me too, Phi. Thanks!
Different moods definitely call for different brownies! ; ) I love these frosted brownies, they look so perfect with the walnuts.
Isn’t that true about brownies, Crystal? :) I loved the walnuts in these, for a nice change.
These look so good, I’ve never actually had a brownie with icing before. Pinned!
Thanks Laura! You know, I think often a brownie doesn’t need icing, but that said, it’s sometimes it’s a really nice change :) Thanks for pinning!
Well I’m glad to see these brownies on here now! I love a good, frosted brownie and this recipe is lovely! Have a great weekend :)
Thanks so much, Katrina. Eventually, I’ll get to posting my “ooey gooey I want to disappear in to a brownie” brownie recipe ;)
How gorgeous are these?! Love the thick layer of frosting and the walnuts – perfect afternoon tea!
Thanks so much, Jessica.
After seeing these brownies, I’m convinced that frosting should always be mandatory for brownies! :)
Thanks Laura. I must say, I do enjoy a frosted brownie :)
I first read this as “dinner” style brownies and I was all excited. Like heck yeah, we are eating brownies for dinner! Ha ha ha. I’m a dork! They looks so good – for any time of day!
That’s hilarious Liz, but not beyond the realm of possibility. I mean I was encouraging cake for breakfast a few posts ago, so brownies for dinner … not a stretch ;)