Brownie Pizza

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Calling all chocolate recipe lovers: easy Brownie Pizza is for dessert tonight! With a semi-homemade fudgy brownie crust, rich cream cheese frosting, colorful fruit toppings, and an apricot glaze to finish, this chocolate dessert is almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

A brownie pizza on a wooden platter.


 

Fruit pizza recipes remind me of childhood. From bake sales to potlucks to birthday parties, they were a staple Midwest dessert as savvy parents tried to convince their picky eaters to eat more produce.

Now that I’m a Mom myself, I have grown to love fruit desserts like this Brownie Pizza even more. Opting for fruit instead of candy is a sneaky-yet-tasty way to eat a little less sugar while layering on even more flavor.

Another Mom “hack” I embrace every so often? Semi-homemade meals, snacks, and desserts. As much as I truly love cooking from scratch, I don’t always have the time or energy and am happy to outsource some or the prep.

Once you dress up this brownie batter with from-scratch cream cheese frosting and fresh fruit, it looks and tastes remarkably close to homemade. Only you need to know that this Brownie Pizza starts with a boxed mix!

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for brownie pizza.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Boxed brownie mix: Seek out a 16.3- to 18.3-ounce box for this chocolate crust. Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Ghirardelli, and King Arthur Baking Co. tend to be widely available at supermarkets and online.
  • Cream cheese: You’ll need 4 ounces (half of one “brick” of cream cheese) for the dessert pizza frosting. Slice the cream cheese into cubes to speed up their softening time; room temperature is best to ensure clump-free frosting.
  • Fresh fruit: Choose a variety of colorful fruits that can hold their shape and don’t brown easily when exposed to air. Berries, oranges, and kiwi are all good choices. The apricot glaze helps protect fruit, too.

Step by step instructions

  1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and coat the paper and sides of pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk brownie mix, eggs, oil, and water until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Brownie batter in a clear glass bowl.
  1. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly dry with a few crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Cool completely.
A round pan with baked brownie inside.
  1. While the cake is cooling, in a stand mixer or with an electric mixer and a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla smooth and creamy.
A mixing bowl full of cream cheese frosting.
  1. Use a plastic knife to cut around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake. Remove from the pan and peal the parchment paper from the bottom. Arrange on a serving platter. Top with the cream cheese frosting.
Someone putting cream cheese frosting on top of a round brownie.
  1. Arrange fresh fruit in a design or pattern and brush with melted apricot jelly.
Someone putting an apricot glaze on top of a brownie pizza.
  1. Cut and serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. 
A slice of brownie pizza on a white plate with a fork.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: We usually end up getting 8 slices out of each Brownie Pizza made in a 9-inch cake pan. For a larger format fruit pizza, see “Frequently Asked Questions.”
  • Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  • Make ahead: Make the brownie crust and the cream cheese frosting a day in advance. Store the brownie crust wrapped in plastic at room temperature, and store the cream cheese frosting covered in the refrigerator.
  • Chocolate chips: Fold chocolate chips into the brownie batter for extra chocolate texture and taste.
  • Peanut butter brownie pizza: Instead of the cream cheese frosting, try my luscious Peanut Butter Frosting and a sprinkling of chopped peanuts.
A whole, unsliced fresh fruit tart.
This Fresh Fruit Tart has a homemade tart crust filled with pastry cream and plenty of fresh fruit brushed with an apricot glaze.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this need to be a fruit pizza recipe?

I love Brownie Pizza as a way to sneak extra fruit into our menu, but you can customize the dessert pizza toppings any which way you like. Try this as a vehicle for leftover Halloween candy (I adore a combination of chocolate candy varieties lke M&Ms, chopped Kit Kats, Reese’s Pieces, and chopped peanut butter cups), or mix salty and sweet by sprinkling on roasted, salted nuts or crushed pretzels and finishing with a drizzle of caramel. You can also keep things simple and top the cream cheese frosting with rainbow sprinkles and chocolate chips. Just be sure to omit the apricot jelly if you forego the fruit.

Can I use a homemade brownie recipe for the crust?

You bet. I’ve used my best Brownie recipe as the base for this fruit pizza recipe, however, it’s important to keep ratios in mind. Most homemade brownie recipes are designed to be baked in a 9- x 13-inch pan rather than a 9-inch square. To avoid any oven overflow issues, be sure to use the pan called for in your homemade brownie recipe. You should have plenty of cream cheese frosting to act as the “sauce” for your fruit pizza whether you make this with a square, circle, or rectangular brownie base.

Could I try a different topping instead of cream cheese frosting?

Of course. Buttercream Frosting, Peanut Butter Frosting, or Chocolate Frosting also taste incredible spread on the brownie crust.

What are the best fruits for fruit pizza?

I love to layer on a rainbow of fresh fruits for an eye-catching look, however, any fruit that you enjoy that doesn’t tend to oxidize (brown) when exposed to oxygen is a winner on Brownie Pizza. My kids and I adore strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, clementine wedges, and kiwi slices. If you’re planning to eat the Brownie Pizza all at once, feel free to add banana slices, too.

More chocolate recipes to try

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A brownie pizza on a wooden platter.

Brownie Pizza

Calling all chocolate recipe lovers: easy Brownie Pizza is for dessert tonight! With a semi-homemade fudgy brownie crust, rich cream cheese frosting, colorful fruit toppings, and an apricot glaze to finish, this chocolate dessert is almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 402
5 from 3 votes

Ingredients 

For the brownie crust:

  • 1 box brownie mix (see note 1)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup water

For the frosting:

For decorating the brownie pizza:

  • Fresh fruit such as berries, bananas, clementines, and kiwi (see note 3)
  • Apricot jelly melted, for drizzling, optional

Instructions 

To make the brownie crust:

  • Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and coat the paper and sides of pan with nonstick spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk brownie mix, eggs, oil, and water until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly.
  • Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly dry with a few crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Cool completely.

To make the frosting:

  • While the cake is cooling, in a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla smooth and creamy.

To decorate the brownie pizza:

  • Use a plastic knife to cut around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake. Remove from the pan and peal the parchment paper from the bottom. Arrange on a serving platter. 
  • Top with the cream cheese frosting. Arrange fresh fruit in a design or pattern and brush with melted apricot jelly. Cut and serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. 

Notes

  1. Boxed brownie mix: Seek out a 16.3- to 18.3-ounce box for this chocolate crust. Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Ghirardelli, and King Arthur Baking Co. tend to be widely available at supermarkets and online.
  2. Cream cheese: You’ll need 4 ounces (half of one “brick” of cream cheese) for the dessert pizza frosting. Slice the cream cheese into cubes to speed up their softening time; room temperature is best to ensure clump-free frosting.
  3. Fresh fruit: Choose a variety of colorful fruits that can hold their shape and don’t brown easily when exposed to air. Berries, oranges, and kiwi are all good choices. The apricot glaze helps protect fruit, too.
  4. Yield: We usually end up getting 8 slices out of each Brownie Pizza made in a 9-inch cake pan. For a larger format fruit pizza, see “Frequently Asked Questions.”
  5. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 402kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 5gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 237mgPotassium: 181mgFiber: 2gSugar: 45gVitamin A: 515IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. My fruit didn’t look as gorgeous as yours but it was still so delicious! I will definitely make this recipe again!5 stars