Cake Mix Brownies are an easy-to-make dessert with rich chocolate flavor, a chewy center, and fudgy bites that make it feel homemade.
Brownies are one of my favorite desserts, as they’re easy to make, and always a crowd favorite. Be sure to try my Oatmeal Chip Brownies and Nutella Brownies.
Sabrina’s Cake Mix Brownie Recipe
Using cake mix in baked goods is an easy way to make amazing dessert recipes a little easier. By adding a few ingredients, you can make these taste like they’re made from scratch. I always like serving rich, chocolatey brownies with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream for the perfect contrasting flavor combo. Be sure to check out the other delicious related recipes below, as well as some variations to personalize your dessert.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1/3 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 18.25 ounces dark chocolate cake mix
- 8 ounces dark chocolate , roughly chopped into chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray an 8×10 baking pan with baking spray.
- In a stand mixer cream together the butter and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the instant espresso powder to the water and stir.
- Mix in the the espresso water until well combined.
- Add in the eggs one at a time until well blended along with the vanilla extract.
- Sift the chocolate cake mix and add it to the stand mixer on the lowest speed setting until just combined.
- Add in half of the chocolate chunks and stir to combine.
- Spread into the baking dish and top with remaining chunks of chocolate.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick just comes out clean.
- Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note
Cake mix contains more leavening agents than brownie mix, which results in a light and airy treat. Making brownies from cake mix results in soft, cakey, yet still fudgy and rich brownies. I always use butter instead of the oil that the cake mix might recommend because it creates a more rich, fudgy texture.
Table of contents
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, these can be made a few days in advance, and will keep up to 1 week at room temperature if stored properly.
How to Store
- Serve: Let cool before slicing and serving.
- Store: To keep fresh, cover the pan in plastic wrap, or transfer leftover brownie squares to an airtight container. They can stay good at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Freeze: You can also keep them frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Baking chips: Instead of dark chocolate chunks, use any of your favorite baking chips in this recipe. Try stirring in milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, peppermint, cinnamon, butterscotch, or toffee chips.
- More mix-ins: Have fun adding any number of your favorite dessert mix-ins into this brownie recipe. Candy pieces like Reese’s Pieces, M&M’s, mini Reese’s cups, Rolos, or broken candy canes would taste great. You can additionally create a crunchy texture with broken pretzels, pecans, walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts. The chocolate base is fairly simple, so you can change it up a lot depending on what you want in the batter.
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