These Chocolate-Covered Raspberry Brownies Are Decadence Incarnate

But they're also deceptively simple.

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Published on April 2, 2021

Photo: Darcy Lenz

You know how sometimes (like after spending six months wearing nothing but oversized sweats and only brushing your hair every third day...), all you need is a cute new top to make you feel like a million bucks? Same principle can work for your brownies, believe it or not.

What I mean to say is, making something utterly impressive doesn't always necessitate starting from scratch, or investing a ton of thought or effort. In fact, these mouthwateringly luxe raspberry truffle-inspired brownies that I want to talk to you about are deceptively simple. They're no more than a standard brownie, with a touch of swagger — thanks to a flattering new top.

I built this indulgent recipe using a classic brownie formula that I originally developed for the wee-baby food blog I started in college as a wee-baby aspiring food writer/recipe developer. It's a great from-scratch brownie that has definitely proved its worth over the last decade, but you could even apply this dressed up truffle treatment to your favorite boxed brownie.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Covered Raspberry Brownies

All we're doing is baking our brownies as usual, and once they've cooled, we're layering on a blanket of raspberry jam, topped with fresh raspberries. And then, we'll drape a thick layer of rich chocolate ganache over everything to sandwich the sweet-tart berry filling in. If you want to add a decorative touch, drizzle a bit of melted white chocolate over the ganache. That's all, folks; simple but elegant.

Supposing you're looking to bypass the box mix for this dessert, here are a few of my top tips for making your best brownies from-scratch:

How to Bake Your Best Homemade Brownies

Line the pan.

Greasing your baking pan will certainly keep your brownies from sticking, but lining the pan with parchment paper will ultimately allow you to lift the entire brownie block from the pan by the overhang. This is going to make cutting the brownies into uniform squares infinitely easier. Not to mention, cleaning the pan will be easier, too.

Double down on chocolate.

There's always been debate over which source of chocolate goodness is more ideal for brownies: cocoa powder or melted chocolate. The thing is, this need not be an either/or situation; use both. The recipe above calls for melting semisweet chocolate with butter and cooling (completely) before incorporating it into the "wet" mixture for the brownies, as well as whisking unsweetened cocoa into the "dry" mixture. The result is a brownie that's incredibly rich in fudgy flavor, but holds its form well once cooled.

Don't be afraid to pull out your hand mixer.

Look, I know being a one-bowl dessert that requires no mixer is a bragging point for a lot of brownie recipes. However, especially at the point where I am beating the eggs into the batter, I want to be able to really put some whipping power into the bowl. Giving your eggs a good beating in this scenario is going to help lend your brownie structure.

Cool completely before cutting.

This is a negotiable rule in general — because a warm, gooey brownie that's just cool enough to eat is one of life's most supreme gifts. That said, if you're trying to cut your brownies into neat squares with clean sides, you'll want them entirely cooled. In fact, you may want to even pop them in the fridge for a bit. And don't forget, you should wipe down your knife after every slice to keep the next cut clean.