Brownie Cake plus Cookie Butter Frosting
This Brownie Cake with Cookie Butter Frosting starts with a fudgy brownie that’s baked into the shape of a cake, then topped with a speculoos cookie butter (i.e. Biscoff) frosting. A straightforward dessert reliable for company!
Behold, one of our favorite desserts of the entire year. Seriously, this brownie cake is absolutely standout and we're convinced you’re going to love it as much as we did.
The recipe hails from the new Bakers Royale cookbook, which came out in September of this year. If you’re not familiar with Naomi’s site, BakersRoyale.com, it’s full of absolutely gorgeous, rich, and totally doable recipes. Mostly desserts, and sometimes savory, we bookmark nearly everything we see, which was also true of her wonderful work. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet and you love dessert, pick up a copy for yourself!
While we doggy-eared many pages in the cookbook, this brownie cake recipe jumped out at us immediately. It’s a fudgy brownie recipe that’s baked in a springform pan so it takes the shape of a single layer cake, then is slathered in a speculoos cookie butter frosting, which we could quite honestly sit and eat with a spoon. It’s one of a standby frostings we've ever tasted.
What is Speculoos Cookie Butter?
If you’re not familiar with the term speculoos or cookie butter, let’s get that squared away off the bat.
Let’s start with speculoos, which is a generic term for a crispy, shortbread-style spice cookie that originated in Belgium. The most popular brand of this style of cookie is Biscoff, and they can be find in most any grocery store.
Now, where does “cookie butter” come from? Well, just like any type of nut butter is made from grinding down the nuts, cookie butter is exactly that – speculoos cookies ground down with a little extra sugar, oil, and spice to get a nice smooth, spreadable consistency that is unbelievably addicting.
We first found Biscoff cookie butter maybe five years or so ago and we only buy it occasionally because we can’t keep from dipping a spoon in the jar! Our grocery store also sells their own brand of cookie butter, and we know that Trader Joe’s does as well. Our favorite way to eat it is spread on a plain rice cake (so good!), but our goodness, this frosting is seriously genius!
Not only is this brownie cake with that spectacular cookie butter frosting to-die-for rich, but it’s crazy straightforward to mix. The brownie cake comes together in less than 15 minutes, and the frosting takes about the same amount of time.
Our husband and we went absolutely nuts for this cake (and Joseph loved it, too!); it’s reliable for a lazy day sweet fix or for serving to company – our favorite kind of dessert!
And hello – do you see that “cake” to frosting ratio? We believe it’s about 1:1 and that is as good as it gets for us!
One year ago: Classic Apple Crisp
Five years ago: Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Brownie Cake with Speculoos Cookie Butter Frosting
Yield: 6 to 8 servings A fudgy brownie is baked into a cake then topped with Biscoff frosting. A straightforward dessert reliable for company!For the Brownie Cake
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter
- 3½ ounces (99.22 g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1⅓ cups (293.33 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) instant espresso powder
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (62.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
For the Speculoos Cookie Butter Frosting
- ¾ cup (177.44 g) speculoos cookie butter (i.e. Biscoff)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup (80 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
For the Garnish
- Chocolate shavings
- Make the Brownie Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9-inch (23 centimeter) springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove the pan from the heat, add the dark chocolate, and let sit for about 30 seconds, then whisk it all together until smooth and glossy. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, then sprinkle in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold it all together until there is no flour visible.
- Spread the brownie mixture in the prepared springform pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake has puffed slightly and the top is shiny and just barely cracked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before removing the sides of the springform pan. In the meantime, make the speculoos cookie butter frosting.
- Make the Speculoos Cookie Butter Frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix together the speculoos cookie butter and unsalted butter for a full minute so it's light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and cream and beat for another minute, or until the mixture is fluffy and spreadable.
- Spread the frosting on the cake, garnish with chocolate shavings, and cut into wedges to serve. Leftovers can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 25 minutes
- Total: 55 minutes
Ingredients
For the Brownie Cake
- ½ cup ( 113.5 g ) unsalted butter
- 3½ ounces ( 99.22 g ) dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1⅓ cups ( 293.33 g ) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) instant espresso powder
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup ( 62.5 g ) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) salt
For the Speculoos Cookie Butter Frosting
- ¾ cup ( 177.44 g ) speculoos cookie butter (i.e. Biscoff)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup ( 80 g ) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
For the Garnish
- Chocolate shavings
Method
- Make the Brownie Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9-inch (23 centimeter) springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove the pan from the heat, add the dark chocolate, and let sit for about 30 seconds, then whisk it all together until smooth and glossy. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, then sprinkle in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold it all together until there is no flour visible.
- Spread the brownie mixture in the prepared springform pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake has puffed slightly and the top is shiny and just barely cracked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before removing the sides of the springform pan. In the meantime, make the speculoos cookie butter frosting.
- Make the Speculoos Cookie Butter Frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix together the speculoos cookie butter and unsalted butter for a full minute so it's light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and cream and beat for another minute, or until the mixture is fluffy and spreadable.
- Spread the frosting on the cake, garnish with chocolate shavings, and cut into wedges to serve. Leftovers can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
