Black Forest Brownies

Ingredients

Cherry Sauce

• 2 cups cherries, fresh or frozen
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons Kirsch, or other cherry liqueur
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Brownies

• 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons Kirsch, or other cherry liqueur
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup chocolate chunks, optional

Topping

• homemade whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream
• fresh cherries
• chocolate shavings

Direction

Cherry Sauce

1. Add the cherries, kirsch, and sugar to a large pot.
2. Heat over medium heat until the cherries begin to break down and get syrupy.
3. Dissolve the cornstarch in water, then add to the cherries and stir until the filling thickens.
4. Remove from the heat and let cool completely to room temperature before swirling into the brownies. [You can also make the cherry sauce the night before and let chill in the fridge overnight!]
5. Set aside some of the syrup from the cherries to drizzle on the brownies later.

Brownies

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
3. Add in the eggs one at a time and whisk each one until fully incorporated and the batter starts to get lighter in color. To get crinkly brownie tops, be sure to whisk the sugar and eggs for at least 4-5 minutes.
4. Then add in the kirsch and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
5. Fold in the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and mix until the batter is just combined. Then gently fold in the chocolate chunks.
6. Cut a parchment paper sling slightly smaller than the width of the cake pan and make sure it fits flatly in the bottom. Then lightly spray the bottom and sides of the pan with a vegetable oil based spray (I love Bakers Joy or Everbake). Place you parchment paper sling in the bottom of the pan and smooth it out so that it sticks to the pan spray (you can use metal binder clips to secure it to the pan). After baking you’ll be able to just slide the brownies right out of the pan!
7. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan.
8. Drop small spoonful’s of the cooled cherry sauce on top of the brownie batter and gently swirl.
9. Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out mostly clean.
10. Remove from the oven and let fully cool in the pan. Then use the edges of the parchment paper to slide the brownies out of the pan.
11. Top with homemade whipped cream, chocolate shavings, a drizzle of cherry syrup, and fresh cherries!
12. You can top the full tray of brownies with whipped cream if desired, but I recommend slicing the brownies and topping each individually right before serving!