Strawberry Ice Cream Brownie Cupcakes
The cupcake form of strawberry ice cream and brownies is both classy and kid-friendly. Absolutely perfect for the warm summer weather!
What is there to say about these mini decadent treats except that the brownie/ice cream combo has never looked so cute (and tasty, I might add!).
Truly a brilliant idea, since brownies and ice cream rank right up there with my favorite desserts of all time, this cupcake form is both classy and kid-friendly.
Absolutely perfect for the warm summer weather and great to serve at a BBQ, this chilly, chocolately concoction will get rave reviews, I assure you!
You’ve probably already tuned into this fact – but these brownie ice cream cupcakes could be deliciously tailored to the flavors you love:
brownie base with cookie dough ice cream and a mini chocolate chip cookie nestled in the ganache,
brownie base with mint chocolate chip ice cream and mint leaf on top of the ganache,
brownie base with chocolate ice cream and a shard of dark chocolate on top…
You get my drift…the possibilities are endless.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Chip Cake
Strawberry Ice Cream Brownie Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- ¾ cup (107 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 3 ounces (85 g) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 ⅛ cups (239 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the ice cream:
- 1 quart strawberry ice cream, slightly softened
For the ganache:
- 1 cup (170 g) mini semisweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
To garnish:
- Fresh strawberry slices
Instructions
- To make the brownie bottoms, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with foil liners. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; stir together and set aside. In a heatproof bowl combine the butter and chocolate. Microwave on 50% power for one minute. Stir. Repeat until the chocolate and butter are melted and well combined (be careful not to overheat). Alternately, you can melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk to blend. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture, and then the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 6-8 minutes. Don’t overbake or the brownies will be dry. Leaving the brownies in the cupcake pans, cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Top with strawberry ice cream until the cupcake liner is full. Return the cupcake pans to the freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- To make the ganache, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour the cream evenly over the chocolate, let stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth with a rubber spatula. If the ganache is too thin, allow it to stand at room temperature to cool and become more easily spreadable. Once the ganache is thick but still pourable, scoop it by the teaspoonful on top of the ice cream cupcakes and spread over the tops. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices, if desired. Return to the freezer.
- Remove the cupcakes from the freezer about 10 minutes before serving. (I removed the liners for the pictures and for our own purposes but you can leave the liners on if serving to guests.)
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Annie’s Eats
Mel, have you ever made this into a full cake? I’d like to make a 9” springform brownie/ice cream cake. Would this recipe work?
I haven’t, Amy – but I think that might work. Good luck experimenting.
I have two questions about this recipe is their a specific reason why you used foil cupcake liners instead of the paper kind? 2nd ? Would this recipe work for silicone
cupcake liners? thank you
No specific reason, I think that’s the only kind I had on hand when I made them. I haven’t made them in the silicone liners but I don’t see why it shouldn’t work.
Dena – sure, that’s a great idea! I’d probably add the ganache at the same time, otherwise the strawberry won’t have anything soft to settle into.
If the frozen sliced strawberry is too hard to eat, could the strawberry be added during the last 10 minute thaw time before being served?
So when I asked my 9 year old what kind of birthday cake he wanted a few weeks ago, he said “strawberry ice cream cake”…in the middle of winter in Chicago, oooookkk? Well, I’m game for ice cream any time of year so I started searching your site (do I cook from any other source anymore?) and came upon these. They were a huge hit at his party. You were right, the brownies stayed soft even in my deep freeze and I loved the ganache. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made these last week when I was looking for a quick treat for the neighborhood kids. I used mint choc. chip ice cream and a brownie mix! They came together really quickly, and the brownie mix worked great. I used the Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie variety and they stayed chewy after they were frozen. I just pulled the last one out of the freezer a minute ago for a snack, and it tasted great!
Made these in the mint flavor for a friend’s 40th birthday and placed them in gorgeous, hand designed cupcake_wrappers
I found online. They were a hit!! Thanks for the great ideas!
These are adorable! Are these regular sized cupcakes or are they meant to be mini? Which did you use in your recipe?
Hi Paula – they are regular-sized cupcakes.
We made these last weekend and they turned out great! My neighbor told me about a really cute website that sells cupcake wrappers – I’m going to use this recipe for my husband’s birthday next week. Thanks!
Mel…I will forever be in your debt. I think about these babies like once a week. They are soooo goooood. I love how the brownie stays so soft and chewy. I love how there are endless possibilities for flavor combinations! I love that I can make the brownie part way in advance and then throw them together the day before I want to use them. Perfect. These are the perfect dessert!
Aubri – well, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks about food all the time! I’m glad you like these ice cream cupcakes…I agree they may just be the perfect dessert!
Mel, I went ahead and gambled with my own standby brownie recipe and it worked beautifully. What a lovely little dessert for our 4th of July party (using vanilla ice cream and topping with strawberries and blueberries). I have made so many of your recipes and have never been disappointed!
Alexandra – I’m glad these babies worked out great with your go-to brownie recipe! Your variation on the Fourth of July theme sounds lovely. What a great idea!
Do you think these could be made with any brownie recipe, or is the one provided the best for the purposes of freezing etc? They look amazing!
Alexandra – any brownie recipe would work but I can’t guarantee the results of the chewiness. For some reason, this brownie recipe stays chewy even from the freezer which is a major plus.
I forgot to comment back in May when I made these. My son saw me checking out this recipe and had to have them for his class birthday treats! Of course we kept some at home and they were divine! I too thought the brownie would be on the harder side but boy was I wrong. Everything about these was perfect! Next time I’ll try it with mint chocolate chip ice cream. All the kids in his class loved these too! and the few teachers that were lucky enough to snatch one! =)
Katie – so glad these were a hit with the kids/teachers at school! I’ve been meaning to try a mint version, too…sounds delicious.
I am just wondering if you baked your brownies longer than the 6-8 minutes in the recipe because you used more batter than the recipe says?
Katie – yes, I probably baked them about one or two minutes longer because I overfilled them.
OH MY!! they look delicious.
I just happened to stumble upon your blog {which is great, btw!} and saw these. I just made ice cream cupcakes for a contest! You haven’t mentioned it here – so I’m assuming you don’t know about it. You have to enter! See the links to enter on my post. xxSAS
http://www.20somethingcupcakes.com/2010/05/sugar-donut-coffee-ice-cream-cupcakes/
LOL!!! I can’t believe this!! I was going to make something similar, but the (new) brownie recipe didn’t work out for me (it was my fault). Now, I will have to use the recipe you’ve posted haha. It looks fantastic. You’re so awesome.
Oh wow!!! These look and sound AMAZING!!!
stellar–the perfect summer treat. i envision a mexican brownie with cinnamon ice cream. surprised? i thought not. 🙂
These are my favorite!!!
Yay! These look so perfect! I can’t wait to try them. One question. Don’t the brownies get a little hard in the freezer? Is 10 minutes enough time to thaw before serving? How far in advance can you make them and freeze them? Ok, so I lied. Three questions. Thanks so much! I’ve tried sooooo many of your yummy recipies and they’ve never failed!
Elizabeth – surprisingly, the brownies don’t get rock hard in the freezer. I could pull them directly out of the freezer and bite into them but it helps to let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes just to soften up a bit. The part that was the biggest pain to eat frozen was the strawberry on top – but the brownies stay soft enough to eat even from the freezer. I kept some in the freezer for at least a week, and if they are well covered (to prevent freezer frostbite!) they will keep just fine. The ones we ate after a week were still delicious.
These are too cute! I can’t wait to try them!
I love this idea!!! I’m definitely going to make this. Thank you!
Wow, these look spectacular. I think I should try them for the holiday weekend! -Christine
Brownie cupcakes? They look amazing, Mel! Once again I ask myself…why didn’t I think of that?!!! 🙂
Yum! I want to try these.
How cute are these?!? Wow wow wow I just want to eat the entire thing up. I hope I can make these this weekend for Memorial Day!