Christmas Tree Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Rich, fudgey, and full of festive flair — these brownies are guaranteed to be the star of your holiday dessert table. Baked in one tin and topped with a smooth cream cheese frosting, they’re as fun to decorate as they are to eat. Cut them into Christmas tree shapes, pipe on the frosting, and get creative with sprinkles and edible stars.

Whether you're baking for a party, gifting homemade treats, or simply looking for a little holiday kitchen fun, these brownies deliver on flavour and charm.

Ingredients

For the Brownie Batter

• 300g brown sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 200g unsalted butter

• 200g dark chocolate, chopped

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 125g plain flour

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 250g cream cheese, softened

• 90g unsalted butter, softened

• 110g icing sugar, sifted

• 1 tsp vanilla paste

• Green food colouring

Method

1. Bake the Brownies

Preheat the oven
Preheat to 160°C fan (180°C conventional). Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin with parchment paper.

Make the batter
In a stand mixer, beat together brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract on high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Melt chocolate and butter
Place butter and chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Let it cool slightly before folding gently into the egg mixture.

Add the flour
Sift in the flour and fold gently to combine, being careful not to overmix.

Bake
Pour into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely in the tin.

2. Make the Frosting

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, softened butter, icing sugar, and vanilla paste together for 4–5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.

Add green food colouring a drop at a time until you reach your desired shade of green.

3. Decorate

Shape the trees
Once the brownies have cooled, cut into triangles to resemble Christmas trees.

Pipe the frosting
Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a small round or star nozzle. Pipe a zigzag or swirl pattern onto each triangle.

Add decorations
Finish with festive sprinkles, gold sugar pearls or tiny stars as "ornaments."