Say it with me now: brownie croutons, brownie croutons, brownie croutons.
Chewy, crispy, fudgy cubes of bite-sized chocolate perfection. Toss them into fruit salad, skewer them on a stick, sprinkle them atop a cake or, perhaps my favorite use of all, layer them with whipped cream and fresh fruit in these Individual Fruit and Brownie Trifles.
While brownie croutons have stolen my heart, the real emphasis here is the individual aspect of this easy, yet impressive dessert. I’m none too shy to express my enthusiasm for no-sharing-required desserts. (See: Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies.) So when it comes to the trio of dark chocolate, homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit, you better believe your spoon isn’t coming near my glass.
Feel free to mix and match your serving dishes for added visual flair, be it a variety of wine glasses, cocktail glasses or even mason jars for sealable sweets to eat on the go.
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Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 7 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 pints raspberries
- Mini chocolate chips, for garnish
For the whipped cream:
- 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the brownies:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, combine the chocolate, butter and water. Cook, stirring, until the chocolate and butter are melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar and light brown sugar, mixing until combined, then add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix for 2 minutes.
- Add the flour and salt and mix until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Once the brownies have cooled completely, invert the pan onto a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch brownie croutons.
Make the whipped cream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the heavy cream, sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract on high speed until soft peaks form.
Assemble the trifles:
- Fill each serving dish with alternating layers of brownie croutons, whipped cream and raspberries. Garnish each trifle with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips and serve immediately.
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Brownie batter recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.
These look so fun and classy too! I would love to do this for a Valentine get together and wondered if there was any suggestion of how to assemble ahead of time? I am anxious to try these!! Thank you!
Hi Stacy! I’d recommend you prep everything in advance but keep the components separately in the refrigerator. Then you can quickly assemble them just before you are ready to serve them.
Can I make these ahead of time?
Hi Mary! I suggest you prep everything in advance and keep the components separately in the refrigerator. This way you’ll be able to quickly assemble them just before you are ready to serve them. :)
Cant wait to try.
Enjoy!
I love your site and recipes!!!
Thank you so much, Caroline! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying Just a Taste!
Made these for a dinner party and they were a big hit! I “cheated”-used a gourmet brownie mix and cool whip…
I made these for a dinner party last night and everyone loved them! I made some with raspberries and some with strawberries. Both versions were delicious!
Like all .
Thanks so much, Kathleen!
What are the amounts of the ingredients converted into grams?
Hi Eleanor – I don’t measure my ingredients in grams, but here’s an online converter you can use to get the measurements: http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_butter.htm
when you say 9 in baking dish do you mean 9×9?
Yes!
hi! loved your recipe so i included it on my latest post :D check it out if you have the time
Made these for New Years and can’t tell you enough how wonderful they were!!!!! Used plastic champaign glasses and the presentation was beautiful. I gave you all the credit!!
Love it! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Carol! :)
How far in advance can you make the whipping cream? Thank you!
Hi there, Julie! You can make the whipped cream several hours or even a day in advance; store in refrigerator. If necessary, lightly whisk again just before serving to re-stiffen.
I would like to make this for a progressive dinner. Will it keep in the refrigerator for 4 hours?
Hi there, Laurie! I suggest you prep everything in advance and keep the components separate in the refrigerator. This way you will be able to quickly assemble them just before you are ready to serve them. Hope that helps!
Did you use a 9×13 pan?
Hi Laura – The brownie recipe is made in a 9-inch baking dish, per the recipe above.
I made these for Easter dessert and they turned out lovely.
I decided to cut both sugars in the brownies and only used 1/2 cup of each. Otherwise they would have been too sweet for us.
In the whipping cream I added a tbsp of sugar (4 total) and everything came together perfectly. I’m so glad I cut the sugars because these were amazing as a result!!
I made this for my parents and me for Valentine’s Day and they absolutely loved it! The only difference was that I used strawberries instead of raspberries since my mother doesn’t like them. I cut the strawberries into thin slices for the layers and it turned out delicious! It looked and tasted great!
Wow, this is pretty impressive dessert!
One word…WOW!
What an awesome little trifle. I am loving those cute little brownie croutons!
My problem would that as I was cutting those bite sized beauties, I would be tossing them in my mouth as fast as I cut lol. This all looks amazing. Chocolate and berries are one of my all time favorite combos!