A chewy brownie “pizza” topped with a silky cream cheese frosting and lots of fresh fruit! This fun dessert is sure to delight, and I promise it will fly off the pan at any get-together!
Brownie Fruit Pizza
Brownie. Pizza. Do I really need to say more?! If you’re here, then there’s a chance that you, too, have fond memories of a giant, fruit-loaded, frosted brownie or sugar cookie! Traditionally, you bake your brownie in a pizza pan and then top it with cream cheese frosting, fresh fruit, and a drizzle of chocolate. But if you’re anything like me in the dessert department, then you can’t resist an opportunity for chocolate frosting. Chocolate cream cheese frosting? DONE.
I’ve taken my favorite brownie recipe, scaled it to make the perfect, crackly-topped brownie – in just the right, pizza perfect size. Then I added an easy chocolate cream cheese frosting, along with fresh sliced peaches, blueberries, and blackberries. Totally irresistible, and the perfect Summer dessert. If you love frosted brownies, then there’s no way you won’t love this Brownie Fruit Pizza!
Some of the Ingredients You’ll Need + Substitutions:
- Chocolate chips are necessary for the perfect crackly top! If you use chopped chocolate, your brownie may not have a crackly top.
- Olive oil is used in place of butter in this recipe. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable oil, butter, or melted coconut oil.
- Instant coffee deepens the chocolate flavor of the brownie. It’s totally optional, but I highly recommend it! You can use espresso powder instead.
- Eggs act as a binder for the brownie. If you’re looking for a vegan replacement, I recommend checking out my Vegan Classic Brownies recipe instead.
- Granulated sugar is necessary for the brownie – feel free to use white, brown, raw, or coconut sugar.
- Dutched cocoa has a deeper flavor and color than regular cocoa powder. If you don’t have any on hand, regular cocoa will work just fine – your brownie and frosting will be lighter in color, though.
- Plant-based butter is key for the buttercream frosting. If you’re not dairy-free then you can use regular butter.
- Plant-based cream cheese adds that classic cream cheese flavor. You can also use regular cream cheese (softened to room temp) or more butter – for a regular buttercream – in its place.
- Shortening helps thicken the frosting, but if you’re looking for a simpler recipe, you can go ahead and use more butter instead. If you use more butter, you may need to use less milk for the frosting.
- Powdered sugar makes up the frosting! I don’t recommend any other sugars or sweeteners in its place.
How to Make Brownie Fruit Pizza
The brownie base of this pizza comes together like so many of my other brownie recipes. You’ll melt chocolate chips (yes, you must use chocolate chips and not chopped chocolate!) along with oil and instant coffee. Then you’ll whisk eggs and sugar together until they’re thick, a bit fluffy, and lighter in color. This color will vary depending on what kind of sugar you use – i.e. white sugar will allow the yellow of the yolks to shine through while coconut sugar will make the mixture light brown.
You’ll gently mix these two together, sift in the dry ingredients, and bake! Once your little brownie “pizza crust” is totally cool, you’ll whip up a simple frosting by beating butter, cream cheese, shortening, cocoa, powdered sugar, and milk. This adaptable recipe allows you to easily use either dairy-free or regular dairy products. The texture of your frosting should be smooth, creamy, and thick enough to hold peaks – see the below photo. If you plan to use plant-based cream cheese, you want it to be cold up until beating it. If you plan to use regular cream cheese, you want it to be softened to room temperature before beating it.
After spreading the frosting over the brownie, you’ll top it all with your favorite fresh fruit. I chose sliced peaches, blackberries, and blueberries. You want to wash your fruit and then pat it dry before adding it to the top of your pizza. I recommend serving the pizza right away, but if you’d like to assemble it a few hours prior to serving, place it in the refrigerator to keep the frosting from melting and the fruit from leaking juice. Set the pizza out 30 minutes before you plan to serve it so the frosting has a chance to soften.
Brownie Fruit Pizza
A chewy brownie "pizza" topped with a silky cream cheese frosting and lots of fresh fruit! This fun, dairy-free dessert is sure to delight, and I promise it will fly off the pan at any get-together!
Ingredients
Brownie
- 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (raw, coconut, white, or brown)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1-2 cups fresh fruit, washed and patted dry
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/4 cup plant-based butter, softened
- 4oz plant-based cream cheese, cold (if using regular cream cheese, it should be softened to room temp)
- 2 Tbsp shortening (or more butter)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
- 3-5 Tbsp plant-based milk
Instructions
Make the Brownie
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and spray a 12" pizza pan with non-stick spray. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
- In a microwaveable bowl, add the chocolate chips, oil, and instant coffee. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each one, until chocolate is melted; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs and then the sugar. Whisk on medium-high until thick and light in color. Whisk in the vanilla. Gently fold in the melted chocolate mixture until well combined.
- Sift in the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix until no flour pockets remain. Pour batter into your greased pizza pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Allow brownie to cool completely before frosting.
Prepare the Frosting
- Once your brownie is cool, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter, cold cream cheese (or softened cream cheese if using regular, dairy cream cheese), and shortening. Beat in the vanilla.
- Sift in the cocoa powder and beat until well combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, beating again until crumbly. Beat in the milk, 1 Tbsp at at time, until you have a smooth, creamy, and spreadable (but stiff enough to hold peaks) frosting.
- Spread frosting over the cooled brownie, leaving about 1/2" of crust around the edge. Immediately top the frosting with fresh fruit.
- Refrigerate pizza until 30 minutes before you plan to serve it - that way the frosting can soften. If you plan to eat the dessert right away, you can skip refrigeration.
- Slice the pizza into 8, 10, or 12 pieces, wiping the knife clean between each slice for a cleaner look.
- If you have leftovers, refrigerate them in an airtight container.
Notes
- For Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: leave out the cocoa powder and use 3 cups of powdered sugar
- Your plant-based cream cheese should be cold. Leave it in the refrigerator until you're ready to make your frosting. If you're using regular, dairy cream cheese, you want to set it out to let it soften to room temperature before beating it
- Both plant-based butter and regular butter should be softened to room temperature before making the frosting. Watch that your plant-based butter doesn't soften too much - if your plant-based butter gets too soft, you may need to use less milk in the frosting
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[…] few years ago, I created my own version of the Brownie Fruit Pizza I fondly remember enjoying at birthday parties as a kid. My “pizza” had chocolate cream […]