In my last essay post I promised that normal service would be resumed as soon as possible, and here it is: Ferrero Rocher Brownies. You guys seem to be loving last year’s Ferrero Rocher Pavlova recipe a whole lot this festive season, and so I couldn’t resist breaking open a box of my favourite Christmas chocolates and turning them into everyone’s favourite baked treat – a fudgy chocolate brownie.
Everyone who knows me knows that I often struggle when it comes to getting brownies right. Alongside French macarons, they are my biggest Achilles heel. So you can be 100% guaranteed that if I post a brownie recipe on my blog that it is foolproof. If I can make these gorgeous brownies, then anyone can.
The recipe below is pretty much the standard brownie recipe, and is adapted from the foolproof fudgy brownie recipe I posted earlier in the year. Melt the chocolate, butter, and sugar. Add the eggs. Add the flour and chocolate chips. Bake. But, it also includes a few extra additions that help make this the most hazelnutty brownie around.
Firstly, there’s the Frangelico. Frangelico is a hazelnut liqueur which is going to give your Ferrero Rocher brownies that little extra nuttyness we need. Any hazelnut liqueur will do – I got mine from amazon. We aren’t adding loads of Frangelico to the batter, and it will bake off in the oven, so there’s no need to worry about getting drunk off these things. If you don’t want to buy a bottle of Frangelico just for these brownies, then you can definitely just omit it altogether. Although, if you’ve got some lying around then you can always add it to a hot chocolate for something really special.
The batter also contains some chopped hazelnuts – because what would a Ferrero Rocher be without chopped nuts. Am I right?
And obviously, there’s the great big Ferrero Rocher chocolate stuck in the middle of each square. I freeze the Ferrero Rocher whilst baking, as this helps to keep them from melting when you press them into the top of the piping hot brownies. Yep, the chocolates are not baked into the brownies, so don’t stick them in the batter before putting in the oven. Instead, as soon as the brownies are done baking, remove them from the oven and immediately press the super-cold Ferrero Rochers into the top. Press them down to that about half the chocolate is sticking out the top, and then leave to cool before cutting up and munching.
I don’t know about you, but I find that the hardest thing with brownies is making sure that they aren’t over-cooked. Or under-cooked for that matter. It’s like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Follow the baking time in the recipe below (35-40 minutes) and you should have a perfect brownie. If you’re anything like me, you will be sure that the brownies need more time in the oven, even after 40 minutes. JUST TAKE THEM OUT. Do not leave them in any longer. That’s an order.
Brownies always seem under-baked straight out the oven, but once you’ve left them to cool down completely, they will be just the right fudgy consistency that you’ve been dreaming of.
Plus, an under-baked brownie is always better than an over-baked one. Fact.
I’ve got a couple more festive recipes under my belt which I’m hoping to get posted before the big day, but seeing as we’ve only got 12 sleeps to go, I’m not entirely sure how many I’ll manage. Mini Christmas Cakes aren’t going to be too much use in January though. I’ll do my best.
In the meantime, hope you’re all having a very merry December!
- 9 or 16 Ferrero Rocher chocolates
- 185g (6.5oz) dark chocolate (bittersweet)
- 95g (½ cup less 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
- 100g (½ cup) light brown sugar
- 100g (½ cup) caster sugar (US granulated sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80g (2/3 cup) plain or all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons Frangelico or hazelnut liqueur
- 85g (½ cup) chopped hazelnuts
- 90g (½ cup) dark chocolate chips (bittersweet)
- 200g (2/3 cups) Nutella or other chocolate/hazelnut spread
- Unwrap the Ferrero Rocher chocolates and pop them in the freezer whilst you make the brownies -
- this will help stop them melting in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F (160°C fan) and line the base and sides of an 8 inch square brownie tin with baking parchment.
- Break the dark chocolate into pieces and place in a medium saucepan, along with the butter and both types of sugar. Melt on a medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until everything has melted together and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, pour into a medium bowl, and leave to cool for five minutes.
- Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon between additions. Add the vanilla extract and beat again.
- Add the flour, salt, Frangelico, chopped hazelnuts, and chocolate chips, and stir together until completely incorporated - but don't over mix. Pour most of the batter into the pre-lined tin and spread out right to the edges, leaving a few tablespoons of brownie batter in the bowl. Warm up the Nutella in the microwave for 20 seconds or so, and then pour over the top of the brownie batter. Spoon the last remaining tablespoons of brownie batter on top of the Nutella, and the swirl the batter and the Nutella together with a spoon, being careful not to rip the baking parchment on the bottom.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the edges are firm but the middle is still soft. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out with a bit of gooey brownie on it, but no completely raw batter. Score lines in the top of the brownie to mark where you are going to cut them (either a 3x3 grid for larger brownies, or a 4x4 grid for smaller ones) and then press a frozen Ferrero Rocher chocolate into the middle of each square, until half of the chocolate is in the brownie, and half is sticking out the top (see photos above). Leave the brownies to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Once completely cool, remove from the tin and cut into squares, using the lines you scored earlier as a guide. You should then end up with either 9 or 16 brownies, each with a Ferrero Rocher chocolate in the middle.
- The brownies will stay fresh for 4-6 days if kept in an airtight container somewhere cool. The brownies do not need to be refrigerated. The brownies can also be frozen - wrap in cling film or plastic wrap before cutting into squares, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature and then cut into squares.
We all know that you love Ferrero Rocher, you are the living embodiment of the ambassador!
Frangelico really is very nice in hot chocolate, I wish that I had some kind of winter warming milky drink… if only someone would make me one,,, 😛