3 ingredient Nutella Brownies

I'm a little late to the game but better late than never. It was World Nutella day on Feb 5th so I baked some Nutella brownies but have not gotten round to blogging about them. This recipe has been going round the blogosphere and I finally got to try it. Only 3 ingredients for amazing chocolatey, gooey brownies. It does make you realise how much fat and sugar Nutella contains but I'll just ignore that for now and munch on these brownies! These are really quick to prepare and would be perfect to impress last minute guests especially if like me you always have a spare jar of Nutella in the house.

I've baked these 3 times now as they are just so good and everyone keeps asking for the recipe. If you've tried it or are planning to try it, do let me know. I think it would taste great with some added chopped nuts or chocolate chips for extra decadence. 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month.

Treat Petite which is guest hosted by Lisa from United Cakedom on behalf of Kat from The Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is Like It, Love It, Gotta Have It. I love Nutella and can (sometimes) be found eating Nutella straight from the jar. 

Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. The theme this month is anything goes and this recipe uses 2 large free range eggs. 

#FoodYearLinkUp hosted by Charlotte from Charlotte's Lively Kitchen for World Nutella Day. 

Cook Blog Share hosted by Kirsty from Hijacked by Twins

Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too. 

 3 ingredients - Nutella, eggs, plain flour 

 

 Lovely gooey brownies 

(You need a double recipe for a 8.5inch x 8.5inch square tin, otherwise use a 18cm sandwich tin for 1 recipe)

Ingredients for ONE recipe

2 large free range eggs

370g Nutella

65g plain flour, sifted

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together until smooth.
• Pour into a greased and lined tin and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your tin.
• The brownies should be cooked round the edges but still soft in the middle.
• Allow to cool in the tin before slicing into squares.

York Mint Brownies

This is not really a new recipe as it's my favourite brownie recipe but I wanted to share it with you again as it's just so good.  Brownies are a great blank canvas as you can add in extra ingredients and come up with something different each time. I've used this recipe with mint oreos, regular oreos, sweet and salty m&m mix, reese's peanut butter cups and different chocolate bars/sweets. It's so versatile and turns out beautifully each time. 

A colleague of mine went to America last year and bought me these York Mint chocolates so I could bake them into a brownie for her. It has been forgotten and packed away what with packing and moving house last year and generally being quite busy. They are long overdue and fortunately they were worth the wait! The brownies were really fudgy, chocolatey and minty. The York Mint chocolate pieces melted into a sticky, gooey, minty goodness. I'll have to buy more of these when I next visit America.

I'm sending these to a new blog challenge hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen called Simply Eggcellent. It's to celebrate the humble egg and this recipe uses 4 large free range eggs so I hope it qualifies.

 melt chocolate and butter 

 whisk in eggs 

 adding the chopped york mint pieces 

ready to bake 

200g butter, chopped into smallish cubes
375g sugar
170g chocolate, roughly chopped
165g flour
80g cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large free range eggs
12 York Mint chocolate pieces, roughly chopped

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a medium sized pan, melt the butter and chocolate.
• Then whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract. 
• CONTINUE mixing until you get a smooth mixture then remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes.
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time and then the flour and cocoa powder until you get a fudgy mixture as shown. 
• Stir in 8 of the chopped York mint chocolates, reserving the rest to sprinkle on top.
• Pour the mixture into a square baking pan and sprinkle the remaining chopped York mint chocolates on top. 
• Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the top is crisp and the edges are cooked. 
• Allow to cool in the pan. 
• Slice and enjoy!

Nutella Ferrero Rocher Brownies

Did you know that today February 5th is World Nutella Day? I love Nutella and could eat it straight from the jar! Yes I know it's bad for you but it's oh so naughty! I haven't eaten or baked with Nutella for ages so I can't wait to see all the delicious recipes on the blogosphere today. These brownies actually came about because I had a lot of leftover Ferrero Rocher chocolates from Christmas and New Year. Yes it does happen! A colleague loaned me her Ferrero gold tower which I used for my Christmas party and again for my New Year party. We ate most of the chocolates from the first time but I topped it up again and we barely made a dent in it. It's been sitting on the table for weeks now and the biscuit is starting to go a little soft so it was definitely time to bake with them. Alternatively I could sit on my sofa and eat lots and lots of Ferreros and make myself really ill!! 

As Ferrero contain hazelnuts, I decided to pair it with my favourite chocolate hazelnut spread - Nutella. I've had a craving for brownies for a few weeks now so there was absolutely no question about what I would bake. These brownies are very chocolatey and fudgy in the middle with a crispy top which is exactly how I like my brownies. The Ferrero Rocher remained whole and added an extra layer of indulgence to the brownies. Quite a few people were eating around the Ferrero chocolate saving it for last!

I'm sending this to We Should Cocoa hosted by Katie from Recipe for Perfection on behalf of Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog. The theme this month is brownies. 

 my ferrero tower - as you can see there's a LOT leftover! 

 adding nutella to the butter and sugar mixture 

 adding mini chocolate chips at the end 

 ready to go in the oven 

 I love how the Ferrero stayed whole after baking 

 These were taken before sunrise so excuse the poor lighting! You can see how fudgy the brownies are 

 

Makes 15 large squares

225g butter
150g nutella
350g light brown sugar
4 eggs
160g cocoa powder, sifted
190g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
275g mini chocolate chips
15 Ferrero Rocher chocolates

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Spray a rectangular baking tray with non stick spray. 
• In a large saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat. 
• Turn of the heat and whisk in the sugar.
• Whisk in the nutella.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking as you go.
• Then stir in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
• You should get a thick fudgy mixture.
• Finally stir in the mini chocolate chips.
• Pour into the baking tin and level the top with a spatula.
• Press the Ferrero Rocher chocolates at regular intervals as shown.
• Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until the top is crispy and cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out slightly wet.
• Allow to cool completely before slicing into 15 squares. 

Christmas Tree Brownies

Are you ready for Christmas? If you need a quick and easy dessert to impress both children and adults alike then this is a definite winner. It's really quick to put together, does not require any fancy equipment and they keep well for a few days so you can easily make this ahead of the big feast. I used my favourite chocolate brownie recipe and baked it in a round tin. Slice it into 8 equal pieces so you get a nice triangle wedge. Push a mini candy cane on the rounded edge to create the tree base. You can decorate these trees as you like. I've used glitter writing icing for ease - you can of course use melted white chocolate or make royal icing. Drizzle the icing in a squiggly line to resemble tinsel and add some festive sprinkles. It really is that easy. 

 bake your brownie in a round tin 

 Christmas Tree Brownies

Makes 16 Christmas tree brownies

For the brownies
200g butter,
375g sugar
170g chocolate, roughly chopped
165g flour
80g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs

To decorate

16 mini candy canes

Glitter writing icing 

Sprinkles

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a medium sized pan, melt the butter and chocolate.
• Then whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract. 
• Continue mixing until you get a smooth mixture then remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes.
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time and then the flour and cocoa powder until you get a fudgy mixture as shown. 
• Pour the mixture into a 2 x 18cm round sandwich tins.
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes until the top is crisp and the edges are cooked. 
• Allow to cool completely before turning out to decorate.
• Cut the brownie into 8 equal pieces.
• Push a mini candy cane into the rounded edge of each brownie slice as shown. 
• Decorate with writing icing and sprinkles as shown. 
• Enjoy! 

Spooky Ghost Cake Pops

Halloween is almost here - are you ready? I try to bake a few things for Halloween each year but this year has been exceptionally busy so I've not been able to bake as much as I would have liked to. I am going to bake some muffins and cookies if I have time for the trick or treaters. As I've just moved house, I have no idea how many trick or treaters to expect. There may be none in which case there will be a lot of leftover goodies! Do you buy candy or make something for the trick or treaters or do you avoid them altogether? 

Dr Oetker sent me some goodies to create these Ghost Cake Pops. The recipe is in collaboration with Juliet Sears and she has a very clear, detailed video showing you how to make them. I forget how fiddly cake pops are and these don't look as good as Juliet's but luckily at Halloween ugly and scary is good!! They are actually really simple to make but quite time consuming as there are several steps involved and required chilling time and drying time.

 Dr Oetker ingredients for this recipe

I followed the recipe exactly apart from using jam instead of icing to stick the fondant to the cake pop. I also added a little buttercream to the mix as it was really crumbly and I found it difficult to roll into a ball. Luckily I had some leftover coffee buttercream to hand and I quite like the chocolateand coffee flavour combination.

I'm entering this to Treat Petite hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi. The theme this month is Trick or Treat. These are perfect for Halloween and I'm grateful to Kat for including my extremely late entry.

I am also entering it to Let's Cook for Halloween hosted by Nayna from Simply Food. 

 luckily I'm crumbling this up for cake pops as a bit of it stuck to the pan. 

 melted white chocolate, crumbled brownie and lollipop sticks

 ready to go in the freezer

 My rather large and ugly looking cake pops. I bought the cake pop stand at the BBC Bake and Cake show 

 starting to look like ghosts 

 spooky ghosts especially with the shadows! 

Recipe from Dr Oetker Even Better Baking

SPOOKY GHOST CAKE POPS

Preparation time: 2 hours plus cooling and chilling
Cooking time: 40 minutes plus 10 minutes to melt 2 lots of chocolate

​Ingredients:
For the cake balls:
120g Dr. Oetker 72% Cocoa Extra Dark Fine Cooks Chocolate
150g soft unsalted butter at room temp
200g Light Muscovado Sugar
3 medium free range eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp Dr. Oetker Madagascan Vanilla extract
125g Plain FlourFor the cake pops:
2 X 100g bags of Dr. Oetker White Chocolate Chips melted for sticking the balls onto the sticks & coating the cake pops
Teaspoon of vegetable oil

To decorate the ghosts:
1 x pack of Dr. Oetker White Regal Ice
Icing sugar for rolling out
Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing for sticking the regal ice to the cake pops
Dr. Oetker Jet Black Gel Food Colour

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 140°C (275°F, gas mark 1). 
• Grease and line an 18cm (7 inch) square cake tin
• To make the fudge brownie mix melt the extra dark chocolate in a microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted, or in a heat proof bowl on a gentle heat over a bain marie. Leave to cool.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand beater for approx. 2 minutes until pale and fluffy. If you haven’t got an electric mixer you can do this with a wooden spoon in a bowl .
• TIP: if you are in a rush or the butter is quite cold, the addition of a couple of tablespoons of boiling water at this stage, beaten on slow until mixed will speed up this process.
• Add your eggs on a slow speed about a third at a time, mixing until combined.
• Add your cooled chocolate stirring continuously. Add the vanilla Extract and stir. On slow speed mix in the flour until just combined. Do not over beat. Alternatively fold in by hand.
• Pour the mix into your cake tin and bake for approx 40 mins. Check it with a sharp knife or metal skewer. You want this to be slightly under baked, so the knife should come out pasty, with a nice paste on the knife.
• Leave to cool, then turn out into a bowl and crumble with your hands to fine fudgy crumb.
• To make the cake balls, take a handful of fudge cake mix and squeeze together tightly - you are aiming for little balls about the size of a large walnut, approx. 30g each. If the mixture is dry, the addition of a little chocolate or vanilla butter cream will help the mixture stick
• Once you have all of your balls ready, dip the end of your stick into the melted chocolate chips and push the stick into each ball, about half way in. Hold the ball to stop it splitting open when the stick goes in
• Once all the cake pops are ready, refrigerate them for 1-2 hours before dipping them, or pop into the freezer for 30 mins, so the balls are firm enough to hold when dipping in the coating
• To coat the cake pops melt Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks White Chocolate on low power in a microwave bowl until just melted - stirring occasionally or over a bain marie on a gentle heat
• Plunge each cake pop into the chocolate coating until completely covered. Tap the cake pop gently on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess. Once all are covered, dip each cake pop again
• To decorate the ghosts roll out half the white regal icing into a large rectangle using plenty of icing sugar and a large plastic rolling pin. Roll fairly thinly – 2 to 3mm thick. Squeeze a little Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing onto the tops of the cake pops or brush with some melted white chocolate, to aid sticking of the sugar paste
• Using a cake cutter or small bowl, cut out circles of regal icing and place on each of the pops, smoothing down with your fingers to create the white sheet effect. Allow a little wavy movement by using your fingers to create smooth creases around the sides. Leave to set for a few hours to dry.
• To add the ghostly expression take some Dr. Oetker black gel colour and squeeze out the eyes and mouth shapes. Leave these to dry overnight.
• TIP: if you want these to look very neat and more painted on rather than squeezed onto the ghost, you can squeeze some gel out on to your surface and use a brush with a tiny bit of water.

Disclaimer: I was sent ingredients from Dr Oetker to create this recipe. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post and I paid for the remaining ingredients myself. 

Oreo Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

This bake is made of all my favourite ingredients - peanut butter, oreos and fudgy brownies. As mentioned in my previous post, one of the first boxes I opened contained my stash of oreo cookies. I also found my giant jar of peanut butter which is how this recipe came about. I used my all time favourite fudgy brownie recipe and added in chopped oreos and a layer of creamy peanut butter. My friend gave me a bag of Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups as a house warming present so I added a few on top. The brownies were absolutely amazing. It's rich, chocolatey and fudgey. You get the crunch from the oreo cookies and the smooth peanut butter layer on top gives it a lovely saltiness which cuts through the sweetness. 

I'm sending this to the Biscuit Barrel Challenge hosted by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than... as she has chosen the theme comfort food. Nothing says comfort like a warm fudgy brownie especially when it's served with cream or ice cream! Perfect for cold, autumn nights.

I'm also sending it to Love Cake hosted by Ness from Jibber Jabber UK. The theme this month is Dark. This recipe uses dark chocolate and it would be perfect for Halloween too.

 add flour and cocoa powder 

 stir in chopped oreos

 before baking  

 fresh from the oven 

 I love how you can still see the peanut butter layer and peanut butter cups

200g butter, chopped into smallish cubes
375g sugar
170g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
165g plain flour
80g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 pack of Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

150g smooth peanut butter

60ml milk 

Mini peanut butter cups to decorate

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a medium sized pan, melt the butter and chocolate.
• Then whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla extract. 
• Continue mixing until you get a smooth mixture then remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes.
• Whisk in the eggs one at a time and then the flour and cocoa powder until you get a fudgy mixture as shown. 
• Stir in chopped oreos, 
• Place the peanut butter in a large bowl and add the milk. Whisk together until smooth - it will take a few minutes and it will look lumpy and wet to start but continue whisking and you will get a nice, smooth mixture.
• Spread the peanut butter layer on top of the brownies and use a fork to gently swirl it through. 
• Add in mini peanut butter cups if using. 
• Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the top is crisp and the edges are cooked. 
• Allow to cool in the pan. 
• Slice and enjoy!