Easy Spiderweb Brownies

5 from 2 votes

Rich and fudgy, these Easy Spiderweb Brownies feature a spooky cream cheese swirl baked right in, then topped with a creepy spiderweb!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Decorating Time5

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: Brownies

Calories: 302kcal

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a microwave-safe dish, melt the butter. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until the butter is completely melted.
1 cup unsalted butter
Stir cocoa powder into melted butter, making sure there are no clumps. Set aside.
¾ cup dark cocoa powder*
While the butter mixture is cooling, in a separate small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
1 cup all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, mix together the butter mixture (it’s okay if it’s still warm), sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla. Then add the eggs one at a time, letting each egg become fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next.
2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon espresso powder , 4 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla
By hand, with a large rubber spatula or mixing spoon, fold in the flour mixture. Folding in the flour will help the brownie batter keep the air in it.
Reserve 1 cup of batter, then pour the remaining batter into the prepared baking dish.

Mix together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Best done with a stand or hand-held mixer.
8 oz cream cheese, ¼ cup white sugar, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla
Divide the mixture in half, mixing in red food gel to one half and the orange to the other, and stir until fully mixed.
Red and Orange food gel coloring
Add dollops of cream cheese over batter, alternating between the red and orange, then gently swirl together- just enough to swirl but not so much to mix the colors together or with the batter below.
Then add spoonfuls of the remaining brownie batter on top and next to the cream cheese. You can leave the pattern blocky or gently spread the batter over the cream cheese a bit.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Once cool, using a can of store-bought white frosting (vanilla or cream cheese), or using some homemade buttercream frosting, pipe on the spiderweb.
1 Cup White Frosting
To make the spiderweb, place a small circle of frosting on top of the brownies- this will be the center of the web. You can place this off to one side of the brownies or directly in the middle.
Draw circles around this center about 1” apart, moving out from the center. After all the circles are drawn, pipe a line of frosting perpendicular to the circles starting from the center of the web out, repeat every 1-2’’ to fil in the web.
Add a little plastic spider and then enjoy!
1 fake plastic spider

Tips and Tricks

How to Soften Cream Cheese? Forget to let your cream cheese come to room temperature? No problem. Unwrap cream cheese and place it on a microwave-safe dish. Heat cream cheese for 15-30 second intervals with the microwave power set to 50%, repeat until cream cheese is soft enough to mix!
Leftovers: Store any leftovers for 4-5 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze for longer- just store in a freezer-safe container.