Epic retro Wagon Wheel Brownies with a thick layer of gooey fudgy brownie swirled with Marshmallow Fluff, topped with fresh sweet raspberries and big chunks of Wagon Wheel.
Brownies with a twist
It's no secret that I love brownies and blondies. I especially like enhancing the base recipe with special toppings, just like my Jaffa Cake Brownies or these wonderful Jammie Dodger Blondies.
Coming up with creative brownie ideas takes simple traybakes to another level. They are really simple to bake yet look seriously impressive.
Best of all, these Wagon Wheel Brownies only take around 15 minutes to put together. Watch the video below to see just how easy it is...
Gourmet brownie recipes
I'm always on the lookout for gourmet, unusual, crazy or downright weird brownie recipes. I love anything a bit "extra" so Wagon Wheel Brownies are right up my street!
This recipe was inspired by Olive magazine's Wagon Wheel Brownies. Biscuits or chocolate bars always make excellent partners for brownies so I thought I'd add Wagon Wheels to my own tried and tested brownie recipe as the base.
And OMG these are so good.
If The Londoner's Slutty Brownies had a relative then these Wagon Wheel Brownies are most definitely the filthy cousin!
Fudgy, gooey stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth brownie smothered with marshmallow fluff, sticky sweet raspberries and the most ultimate of all brownie toppings: The Wagon Wheel!
Retro Wagon Wheels
Surely we've all had a Wagon Wheel tucked into our lunchboxes at one point? I definitely remember them being all the rage in the 80s along with Breakaway and Trios.
This brownie traybake is a nod to the nostalgic and retro days of a bygone era where Wagon Wheels are the star of the show.
Here's how to make them...
Scroll to the Recipe Card at the bottom of the page for the list of ingredients and recipe method.
You'll need to begin by cooking down the raspberries in a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar. I only cooked mine on the hob for a couple of minutes as I didn't want the raspberries to completely lose their shape. Heat them just long enough that some of the juices escape and the raspberries turn deliciously glossy and with a little bit of squidge.
Put the raspberries to one side to cool down while you make the brownie batter.
Next, melt the butter and dark chocolate together and set it to one side. It's important to use dark chocolate in brownies because it gives brownies an intense flavour with a fudgy centre.
I always add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the chocolate and butter as it makes brownies extra gooey and fudge-like.
Whisk the eggs and sugars until the mixture is pale and light. The whisking stage is vital as it incorporates air into the brownies and stops them from being dense or hard.
Combine the melted butter and chocolate with the beaten eggs and sugar.
AMY'S TOP TIP
Use a metal spoon to incorporate the two mixtures together in exaggerated looping movements. This ensures none of the air gets knocked out.
Use the metal spoon to fold the flour, salt and cocoa powder into the mixture until you can no longer see white streaks of flour. The brownie batter should look dark, thick and glossy.
When it comes to baking brownies I prefer to use a square 20cm (8") baking tin so that the baked brownies are nice and thick. I find using a rectangular tin results in thin and flat brownies.
Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin and then it's time for the fun part of adding the toppings!
Time for the toppings!
The toppings for Wagon Wheel Brownies, of course, emulate what's inside a Wagon Wheel. Marshmallow Fluff for the marshmallowy bit and raspberries for the jammie middle.
Dot the Marshmallow Fluff over the top using two teaspoons to scrape it off because marshmallow fluff is really sticky.
Use a chopstick or the end of a knife to swirl the Marshmallow Fluff into the brownie mixture.
Break up the Wagon Wheels by hand and stick pieces in the top of the brownie batter leaving each piece to poke out slightly.
Lastly add spoonfuls of raspberries and any leftover juice.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes. With these brownies, it's really difficult to test for doneness because of the amount of topping.
If you wobble the baking tin after 25 minutes the topping will still jiggle a lot.
This doesn't mean the brownie layer hasn't baked properly so you're just going to have to trust me that it takes 25 minutes to bake.
Leave the brownies to completely cool in the baking tin before you attempt to turn them out and cut them into pieces.
If you can bear to wait, it's a good idea to cover the tin with clingfilm and leave them in the fridge overnight to set. This will make it much easier to cut them into uniform slices.
I hope you love these Wagon Wheel Brownies as much as I did!
More Tempting Traybakes
Wagon Wheel Brownies
Brownie batter swirled with Marshmallow Fluff and topped with jammie raspberries and chunks of Wagon Wheel.
Ingredients
- 200g unsalted butter
- 200g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, chopped
- 3 large eggs, or 4 medium
- 100g caster sugar
- 150g dark brown soft sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 100g plain flour
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 30g cocoa powder
Toppings
- 150g fresh raspberries
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 6 tbsp Marshmallow Fluff
- 3 Wagon Wheels, broken into pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180ºC / 160ºC Fan/ Gas 4/ 350ºF
- Line a square 20cm baking tin with baking parchment
- In a small suacepan set over a medium heat cook the raspberries and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar for a few minutes until all the sugar has dissolved and the raspberries have broken down slightly. Set aside for later.
- In a saucepan set over a low heat melt together the chocolate and butter. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl add the eggs, caster sugar and brown sugar. Mix until light and frothy.
- Stir the vegetable oil in to the melted chocolate.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the large mixing bowl. Using a metal spoon, stir the ingredients together in large looping movements until the mixture is dark and combined.
- Add the flour, salt and cocoa powder to the mixing bowl and fold together very gently until you can no longer see white streaks of flour.
- Tip the brownie mixture into the prepared tin and smooth it with a spatula.
- Randomly add spoonfuls of Marshmallow Fluff on top of the brownie mixture then use a chopstick (or similar) and swirl the Marshmallow Fluff into the brownie mixture.
- Poke pieces of Wagon Wheels into the brownie mixture.
- Dot spoonfuls of raspberries over the top of the brownie mixture. Use the back of a spoon to push the raspberries into the brownie.
- Bake in the centre of a preheated oven for 25 minutes.
- Leave the Wagon Wheel Brownies to cool completely in the pan before turning out and cutting into 15 slices.
Notes
- A 20cm (8 ") square tin will produce thick brownies. For thinner brownies use a rectangular brownie tin.
- Don't substitute the dark chocolate for milk chocolate.
- The mixture will still jiggle after the 25 minute baking time but the brownie underneath will be baked.
- Leave the brownies to completely cool in the baking tin before you attempt to eat them!
- It is best to leave the brownies in the tin and refrigerate overnight then bring the tin to room temperature before turning out and slicing.
- Storage: Wagon Wheel Brownies will keep for 4-5 days in an airtight container. Suitable for freezing for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 335Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 81mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 2g
Karen
I've tried this tonight..
Just out of the oven
Amy Treasure
Hope you loved them as much as we did!