Fudgy Brownies Skillets with Ooey Gooey Red Velvet Hearts

By Christie Vanover | Published February 10, 2018 | Last Updated February 16, 2023

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’m in love with my Lodge Mini Skillets. I mostly use them to fry eggs alongside steaks, but they’re also are great for baking.

Baking? Isn’t this a grilling website?

Of course it is, but it’s all things grilling – even baked goods.

I learned long ago that a grill is just a way cooler oven. The heat can be a little more intense, but ultimately, if you can control that, you can bake anything on a grill.

How to bake on a grill

Pellet grills are the most similar to your oven. You can set the temperature, and the inner workings control the heat for you. Pellet grills also have a metal diffuser plate that helps block the direct heat, so you won’t burn your baked goods from the bottom.

Gas grills are the next closest thing to a normal oven. I usually start by turning on the outside burners and adjusting them until I get the temp I’m looking for. Unlike a pellet grill, the flames from the grill aren’t blocked by the grill’s standard grate. But that’s an easy fix. Just take a cake pan or aluminum pie tin and place it on top of the grill grates. Then, set a cookie sheet on top of that. Voila, you’ve created your own diffuser and elevated the cooking area further from the heat.

If you’re baking cookies, you can bake them right on this cookie sheet. If you’re baking cakes or pies, just set the pan (or in this case skillets) on the cookie sheet.

I used a pellet grill for these cute little fudgy brownies skillets with ooey gooey red velvet hearts because I wanted to get just a little bit of smoky flavor to share my love of BBQ with each fudgy bite.

Brownies that say “I ❤️  You”

You’ll need to make two different batters, but I cheated and used boxed cake and brownie mix, so it doesn’t take a lot of effort. Start with the red velvet batter by adding melted butter and an egg. Refrigerate this while you make the brownie batter. Refrigerating it will help the hearts keep their shape, so they don’t melt too quickly when they’re cooking.

Since one box of red velvet cake mix yields 24 hearts, I use two boxes of Ghirardelli Triple Fudge Brownie Mix and make the batter according to the box directions, adding water, oil and eggs. If you don’t need to bake up 24 fudgy brownies skillets, you can use one box of brownie mix and save the extra red velvet cake mix in the freezer for later or bake it on it’s own.

Next, spray your skillets and a heart-shaped cookie cutter with non-stick spray. Then, roll the red velvet cake into a ball and press it into the heart shape. Remove the cookie cutter and use your fingers to narrow-out the bottom a bit, and use a toothpick to accentuate the dip in the top.

Using two spoons, gently add the brownie mix around the heart. Place them in your oven or on your prepared grill and bake for 12-15 minutes. I like them extra fudgy and a little undercooked, so I usually pull them off after 12 minutes. If they cook too long, the hearts will keep expanding and lose their shape.

Dig in while they’re still hot to enjoy the melted chocolate bliss.