Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies

Vietnamese coffee and condensed milk is a flavor combination that's hard to beat. It's chocolatey, caramel-ish with a hint of vanilla. If you love all those elements (who doesn't?), you will adore these brownies, a recipe by chef Sheldon Simeon based in Maui. He has credibility as a chef and restauranteur, as well as Top Chef contestant. I value him for his Asian American flair for good flavor. This recipe is from his second cookbook, Ohana Style: Food from Hawai'i, for Your Family. Written with Garrett Snyder and photographed by Kevin Miyazaki, the book offers slightly cheffy, and very doable recipes.

Simeon is very community oriented so Ohana Style ("Ohana" means family and community) conveys his sensibilities through heartfelt homey fare, family stories, and spotlights on the people who have impacted his life. It's a sweet, very Hawaiian vibe that carries throughout the book. The recipes reflect a blending of cultures that's unique to the islands. Flavors and ideas bend toward Asia, but they don't look backwards. Simeon is Filipino American so his palate and flavors are much broader. He's a good chef with three successful restaurants and his flavor combinations are clever twists on classic notions.

If you enjoy fudgy American brownies and Vietnamese coffee, these brownies are for you. The light and dark batters seem fussy but you'll bake up a delectable brownie with the savors of Vietnamese coffee. The cream cheese in the swirl batter lends a cheesecake like quality these Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies.

The secret to these chocolatey, fudgy brownies

Chef recipes are partly technique but also much about selecting ingredients. For these Vietnamese coffee swirl brownies, Simeon advises using a dark Dutch-process cocoa powder and instant espresso powder. They have concentrated flavor that's bold like Vietnamese coffee. Of course, there has to be sweetened condensed milk (Bordens, Old Man, or Target Good and Gather are good)! Adding vanilla pumps up the aroma and flavor of the milk. I've used that combo -- cocoa powder, instant coffee, condensed milk and vanilla, to make the delicious Vietnamese mocha cake recipe in my book, Ever-Green Vietnamese.

Vietnamese coffee swirl brownies pointers

The hardest part about this recipe is layering the batters and swirling. While you can't go wrong, do know this: the chocolate-coffee batter is lighter than the condensed milk batter. You'll layer most of the dark batter in first, then plop on the lighter one, finish with the dark one then strategically run a knife tip through the top. What I suggest is this:

• Simeon's recipe says to put three-quarters of the dark batter into the pan first. I say put about 80 percent of the dark batter into the pan. It's lighter and will float up during baking and will take over the light batter -- if you have too much. So, err on putting more of the dark one down first.
• Scrape up whatever leftover light batter that's in the mixing bowl and use it to add light flourishes at the end.

Tinker with this brownie recipe

After making and eating these brownies, my ideas for you to play with:

• For a coconut edge, instead of all butter, use a 1:1 combo of butter and virgin coconut oil.
• Use salted butter, such as Kerrygold for extra oomph and omit the salt addition.
• For a vegan brownies, use non-dairy cream cheese, such as Kite Hill or Tofutti, coconut condensed milk (Nature's Charm is my favorite), non-dairy butter (I like Miyako's), a favorite egg substitute, and organic cane sugar.

What to do with the extra condensed milk? How about making Vietnamese green or red seafood sauces? Or work it into Thai pork satay? You can also just freeze the condensed milk in a jar for future recipes!

Print Recipe

Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies

Cut this decadent, bold flavored brownie into smallish 2-inch (5cm) square pieces if you're serving them at a party. You could cut those squares into triangles to book fancy. This recipe has been adapted from Sheldon Simeon's book, Ohana Style (Ten Speed Press, 2026).

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• Cooking spray or neutral oil, for the pan

Condensed milk swirl

• ¼ cup | 60ml boiling water
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 8 oz | 225g block cream cheese, at room temperature and very soft
• ¼ cup | 35g all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brownie batter

• ¼ cup | 60ml boiling water
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
• ½ cup | 40g Dutch-process dark cocoa powder
• 8 tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter
• ½ cup | 100g granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed | 100g light or dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ cup | 71g all-purpose flour

Instructions

• Ready the oven and pan: Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the middle position Coat an 8 × 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray or oil. Line the bottom and two sides with parchment paper with some paper extended over the edge for easy brownie removal.
• Make the condensed milk swirl: In a small bowl, whisk together the boiling water and instant espresso until dissolved. Stir in the cream cheese, flour, condensed milk, and vanilla, and continue stirring until a smooth batter forms.
• In a mug or cup, whisk together the boiling water and espresso powder until dissolved. Add the cocoa powder incrementally, stirring, until a thick paste with no lumps forms. Set aside.
• Make the brownie batter: In a microwave-safe medium bowl, microwave the butter on low power until completely melted and warm, but not hot. Scrape in the cocoa-espresso paste and whisk until combined and let cool to room temperature.
• Once the butter mixture has cooled, add both sugars, the eggs, and salt. Whisk until frothy. Add the flour incrementally, stirring, until the flour is incorporated and no dry streaks remain.
• Assemble and bake: Scrape about three-quarters of the batter into the baking pan and spread into an even layer. Dollop the condensed milk mixture all over the brownie batter. Finally, dollop the remaining brownie batter over the top. Drag the tip of a knife across the top to swirl the layers together, just enough to form a cool pattern but not so much that they mix together.
• Bake until the center is set, 25 to 30 minutes. If you are using a heavy metal pan, glass, or ceramic baking dish, bake for longer, checking every 3 to 5 minutes (see Note). The brownies will pull away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the middle will come out slightly moist with just a few crumbs.
• Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

Notes

I used a heavy metal pan and baked for 35 minutes and my brownie was slightly under down in the center. I could have gone for 38 to 40 minutes. Remember to test the bake and be flexible!