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Do you love brownies and cake? If so, this Brownie Cake recipe is one you need to make! Rich and fudgy brownies are topped with a pourable chocolate frosting – and then I leveled them up with candy on top!
Chocolate Brownie Cake
If you’ve never made a brownie cake recipe before, you’re in for a treat. Not only does this recipe make any chocolate lover happy, but the fudgy texture will also have you dreaming about it.
This brownie recipe melds my favorite two recipes together: it uses cocoa and melted chocolate, and while it doesn’t have as many eggs as my other favorite recipe, there is corn syrup in the batter, which keeps them super moist and fudgy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This is a chewy and fudgy brownie recipe
- I baked it as a cake but it works as regular brownies too!
- Top it with chocolate frosting and candy for a fun dessert!
Ingredients in Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cake
- Unsalted butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter when baking.
- Unsweetened chocolate – This adds a chocolate flavor without adding more sugar.
- Vegetable oil – Adding oil to brownies with butter makes them even more fudgy.
- Light Karo Syrup – The corn syrup keeps these moist!
- Baking powder – This gives the brownie cake some fluffiness!
- All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure it correctly.
- Semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips – The melted chocolate frosting is so good!
- Heavy whipping cream – Used to make the frosting.
How to make the Best Chocolate Brownie Cake Recipe
- Place butter and unsweetened chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Heat on high power in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth.
- Stir in oil, sugar, and corn syrup. Stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth, then mix in baking powder and salt. Slowly stir in the flour until combined, then stir in the chopped candy.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs when poked 1-inch from the side of the pan. Cool completely before frosting.
Making Frosting for Brownie Cake
- Bring heavy whipping cream and Karo to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.
- Place chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Once it’s boiling, pour it over the chocolate chip mixture. Let the mixture sit for about 30-60 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Let sit at room temperature until it thickens slightly, about an hour.
- Remove brownie cake to a cake plate. Pour frosting over the top, then decorate with candy. The frosting will set after several hours (chilling helps). You may have some frosting leftover.
Pro Tip
The frosting takes time to settle! Be patient – it’s worth it. It’s like the perfect homemade ganache meets a chocolate explosion – and you’re going to love the outcome.
I’m never patient enough to let the frosting firm up on its own, so I always add it to the fridge to chill. This speeds up the process immensely, which means that I get to eat cake sooner!
Storage and Freezing Instructions
How to store brownie cake: Cover the cake pan with a lid, and keep it stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Can you freeze brownie cake? If you want to freeze this brownie chocolate cake, you can, but I would unthaw it and then add the frosting and candies on top at that point in time.
FAQs
The difference between the two is the frosting! You’ll also notice that there is a texture difference as well. Making a box fudge brownie recipe versus a homemade brownie cake will result in your tastebuds immediately knowing the difference.
A brownie cake is light and fluffy, while a pan of baked brownies is denser.
This fact is true for brownies and cakes! If you bake them for too long, they will dry out and become dry and hard.
When you cut into brownies or this brownie cake recipe, it needs to be cooled down all the way. That way, the knife will cut through the baked brownie portion without making a big huge mess.
Gooey Candy Filled Brownie Cake
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces (57g) unsweetened chocolate
- ¼ cup (59ml) vegetable oil
- ¾ cup (350g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (59ml) light Karo Syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (82g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chopped candy (any mixture such as peanut butter cups, M&Ms, Butterfingers, Snickers, etc.)
For the frosting:
- ⅔ cup (113g) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
- 1 ½ tablespoons (21g) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (118ml) heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) light Karo Syrup
- More chopped candy for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 8” or 9” round baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Make the brownies: place butter and unsweetened chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Heat on high power in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth (1-2 minutes total). Stir in oil, sugar, and Karo Syrup. Stir in eggs and vanilla until smooth, then mix in baking powder and salt. Slowly stir in the flour until combined, then stir in the chopped candy.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs when poked 2” from the side of the pan. Cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting: place chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl. Set aside. Bring heavy whipping cream and Karo to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Once it’s boiling, pour it over the chocolate chip mixture. Let the mixture sit for about 30-60 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Let sit at room temperature until it thickens slightly, about an hour.
- Remove brownie cake to a cake plate. Pour frosting over the top, then decorate with candy. The frosting will set after several hours (chilling helps). You may have some frosting left over.
- Store loosely covered for up to 3 days.
Recipe Video
Recipe Nutrition
Favorite Brownie Recipes
Easy Brownie Cake! This single layer cake is a fudgy brownie topped with the best pourable frosting! Decorate with lots of candy for a delicious easy cake recipe.
Oh gosh, I need to get out that Halloween candy to make these amazing brownies! The top is so cute and colorful….it definitely would get the attention of all the chocolate lovers in the house…(aka everybody!) YUM!
Thank you!
These look like a choclaholics dream! That poured frosting…wow.
And I can’t keep up with your brownie recipes. Between your cookbook (which 2 years later I’m baking from, better late than never), your blog brownies, and now these…I have so many brownies to make!
I want to stuff my face in this brownie cake!! Especially the frosting… ooooooh!!
Wowsers! This cake! Such a great way to use up all that leftover Halloween candy. I love how gooey and flavorful this is!
Umm……..YEAH!!! Talk about the ultimate use of leftover candy!
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