Strawberry Lemonade Brownies

Stacked strawberry brownies with a pink and yellow lemonade swirl and white lemon glaze, garnished with fresh strawberries and lemon slices

Strawberry brownies with a lemonade twist, made from two boxes of cake mix and swirled pink and yellow. The easy swirl trick keeps both flavors bright.

Author: Donna Elick

Servings:

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Inactive Time1 15

Total Time1 55

Ingredients

For the Lemon Batter

1 box lemon cake mix 13.25 to 15.25 ounces
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons lemon zest

For the Strawberry Batter

1 box strawberry cake mix 13.25 to 15.25 ounces
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
3 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped (about 1/2 cup)

For the Glaze

6 ounces powdered sugar about 1 1/2 cups
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

PREHEAT AND LINE THE PAN: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches hanging over the two long sides. Those flaps are your handles for lifting the whole slab out later.
MIX THE LEMON BATTER: In a medium bowl, stir together 1 box lemon cake mix, 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 large eggs, and 2 teaspoons lemon zest until you see no dry pockets of mix. The batter will be very thick, closer to soft cookie dough than cake batter. That thickness is what makes these bake up dense and chewy like a brownie.
MIX THE STRAWBERRY BATTER: In a second medium bowl, stir together 1 box strawberry cake mix, 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, and 2 large eggs until you see no dry pockets of mix. Pat the 3 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped dry with a paper towel, then fold them in. Dry berries bake into the batter, and wet ones leave soggy pockets.
FILL AND SWIRL: Drop big spoonfuls of the lemon batter into the pan in a checkerboard pattern, leaving gaps between them. Fill the gaps with spoonfuls of the strawberry batter until the pan is covered edge to edge. Drag a butter knife through the batter in 4 or 5 long S-shaped passes, then gently smooth the top. Stop while you can still see clear yellow and pink patches. A few passes give you a swirl, and more than that blends it all into one color.
BAKE: Bake for 25 minutes, until the edges pull away from the parchment and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Thick cake mix batter can look done on top before the middle is ready, so trust the toothpick. If it comes out wet, bake 3 minutes more and test again.
COOL AND CUT: Let the pan cool on a wire rack until the bottom of the pan feels cool to the touch, about 1 hour. Lift the slab out using the parchment handles and set it on a cutting board. Trim off the edges if you want neat squares, then cut into 15 pieces. Warm bars will tear, so the full cool gives you clean cuts.
GLAZE THE BARS: In a small bowl, whisk 6 ounces powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice until smooth. The glaze should drip off the whisk in a thick ribbon, like honey. If it is too thick, whisk in a few drops of water. If it is too thin, whisk in a spoonful of powdered sugar. Spoon or drizzle the glaze over the bars and let it set until it is no longer sticky when you touch it lightly, about 15 minutes.

Notes

STORAGE: Keep the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

INGREDIENT TIP: Buy 5 lemons for this recipe. You need 2 teaspoons of zest and about 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of juice in total, and zest the lemon before you squeeze it.

INGREDIENT TIP: Strawberries out of season? Use 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries, roughly chopped, in place of the fresh. They soften as they bake.

Nutrition