Cinnamon Brownie Pie

[This is Part 2 in our Catering series. To view previous posts, click here.]

(Photo courtesy of The Wedding Format)

Even though dessert was the last course we served for the night, we wanted it to be the first recipe that we shared with you. It was a definite crowd pleaser at the party! We had so many people asking us for the recipe! At first we were a little embarrassed to admit that we used a box mix for the brownies. But the more we thought about it, the more comfortable we became with it. The reason we picked a Ghirardelli mix was because we checked the ingredient list and it was everything we would use if we made brownies from scratch. And when we knew were making 18 pies, we figured we’d take all the help we could get!

Obviously, no one could tell they were from a box! They were super rich and decadent with a little warmth from the cinnamon. The real whipped cream took it over the top! We heard that at one table each person took their first bite as they got to the table and exclaimed to themselves, “Whoa!..” We’ll take that as a complement!

It was hard to break this recipe down much more than this. Sorry that it still makes 3 pies, serving 18 people. The good thing about these pies is that they are frozen so you can just keep a couple on hand to pull out later for a last minute dessert.

Cinnamon Brownie Pie
Serves: 18

Ingredients
2 packages Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate brownie mix
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 eggs
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup canola oil
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Cocoa powder

Directions

Brownies:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place brownie mix, cinnamon, eggs, oil and water in a large bowl. Mix with a whisk until all ingredients are combined. Pour the batter into three 8-inch round cake pans. (About 1 1/2 cups batter in each pan.) Bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely.

Whipped Cream:
Place bowl and whisk attachment from the mixer in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. Remove bowl and whisk attachment from the freezer. Beat the cream on high until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat and additional 1-2 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Divide whipped cream between the three brownie pans. Spread cream to the edges and dust with coca powder. Cover with foil and freeze the pies at least 3 hours. Remove the pies from the freezer 30 minutes before serving.