blackberry brownies |

For our spooky Halloween dessert from our entertaining guest blog over at Eat Wisconsin Cheese blog, we made these mini chocolate brownie stacks, inspired by striped witch stockings. The whimsical presentation and perfect combination of rich chocolate, creamy mascarpone and tangy berry jam makes for a dessert that will leave guests, ahem, spellbound.

As a bonus, you can use the extra brownie bits leftover from your circle cutouts to top ice cream sundaes!

Chocolate Blackberry Witch Stockings
1 box German chocolate cake mix
½ C butter, melted
1/3 C milk
4 oz mascarpone cheese
2 pints blackberries and/or raspberries (or premade preserves*)
¼ C sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch
1 C chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together cake mix, melted butter and milk until batter is thick but fully moistened. Press batter into a 13×9 cake pan or spread across a cookie sheet. Top with chocolate chips if you are using them. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, add berries to a small sauce pan and smash them with a potato masher. Heat berries over medium heat and whisk in sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch. Continue cooking, whisking occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes until jam has reduced by about 1/3 and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and cool completely in the refrigerator.

Use a small cookie or biscuit cutter (preferable 1 ½” diameter) to cut circles from the brownie. Depending on the thickness of your brownie, slice each circle in half horizontally (note: if your brownie is quite thin you can skip this step). Lay out the bottom halves and top halves separately on a cutting board. Spread a thin layer of mascarpone and a small dollop of blackberry preserves on the bottom halves. Next, carefully stack one layered bottom half on top of another and complete your stocking by topping off with a top half. Continue repeating until you have used all your slices.

*optional: Save time by substituting pre-made blackberry preserves for the homemade preserves. Chocolate chips are optional as well.