A fudgy brownie base is frosted in rich cream cheese frosting and topped with lots of fresh berries in this 4th of July-themed brownie dessert pizza.
Your search for the perfect 4th of July dessert is over! Actually your search for the perfect dessert, period is over if we’re being real here.
Everyone loves a good dessert pizza but we’re taking things entirely up a level today and incorporating brownies AND some fun patriotic colors into the mix.
Almost too good looking to eat, but PLEASE do not let that stop you from diving face-first into this goodness.
Dessert pizza is a perfect treat to pull out if you’re feeding a crew because it makes a ton AND you can prep nearly all of the components ahead of time!
The wins just keep stacking up here.
This Dessert Pizza features…
- A fudgy brownie base
- Silky cream cheese frosting
- Juicy strawberries and blueberries on top
- The perfect 4th of July dessert and easy to make ahead of time
Making the Dessert Pizza
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Bittersweet chocolate
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Kosher salt
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
Choosing Your Pan
I recommend using a 10 x 15.5 inch jelly roll pan for this dessert pizza. This pan size yields a perfect crust-to-frosting ratio and one pan will yield 8 large portions. You can also cut them into smaller portions of 16 if you want a bite-sized dessert.
Tips for Perfect Dessert Pizza
- Allow brownie base to cool before frosting – the frosting will melt off if you try to frost the brownies while they’re still warm.
- Use fresh strawberries and blueberries – unfortunately this recipe doesn’t work well with frozen fruit as frozen fruit tends to seep excess liquid into the frosting as it thaws.
- Cut brownies before topping with fruit – frost the brownies and cut into squares before topping with fruit to eliminate having to cut through fruit.
- Arrange fruit in rows – this will give you an American flag-type design that’s perfect for the 4th!
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this pizza.
- Use a different fruit – try fresh raspberries, blackberries, peaches, or mango.
- Make frosting chocolate – add 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to the frosting for an extra chocolate-y kick.
- Drizzle top with melted chocolate – try melting 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips and drizzle over pizza just before serving
Storing Instructions
If you want to prep several of the components for this pizza in advance before assembly, the baked brownie crust stores well covered in up to 4 days and the cream cheese frosting may be stored in refrigerator up to 6 days.
This pizza also stores well in refrigerator up to 4 days once assembled, making this recipe ideal for a make-ahead dessert for the 4th of July!
Trust me, it really doesn’t get any more festive than this dessert pizza! Not only is it stunning with the rows of fresh fruit, but the fudgy brownie base is absolutely wonderful with the silky cream cheese frosting and burst of juicy berries.
It’ll be our little secret that this was the easiest dessert EVER to pull off!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More 4th of July recipes to try next!
4th of July Brownie Dessert Pizza
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Ingredients
Brownie Base
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 3 large eggs
- 1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
- 1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 10 x 15.5-inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place butter and chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Microwave 60-90 seconds until chocolate chips are melted, stirring at 30 second intervals. Allow to cool slightly.
- Whisk eggs, sugar, and vanilla into melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Fold in flour, cocoa powder, and salt until batter is thick and smooth. Spread batter in an even layer in prepared pan.
- Bake brownies at 350F 15-20 minutes until brownies are set when lightly touched. Allow to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place cream cheese and butter in a large bowl (or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment) and use an electric mixer to beat on medium speed until 2-3 minutes until creamy.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla to cream cheese mixture and beat an additional 3-4 minutes until frosting is completely smooth and creamy. Refrigerate frosting until ready to frost pizza.
- Use the parchment paper to remove brownies from pan and transfer to a cutting board. Spread frosting in an even layer over cooled brownies and cut brownies into 8 even squares. Top squares with rows of fresh strawberries and blueberries.
- Store dessert pizza in a sealed container in refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 6/14/24.
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