Recipe: Strawberry Centred Valentine's Brownies

On Monday I shared with you the first of three Valentine's based recipes and today I'm back with my second. I had played with the idea of making a Valentine's themed sandwich biscuit but me and sandwich biscuits aren't friends at the moment. So I took another look at what I could create that would look like you've the effort yet are still adorable and tasty. Then on Pinterest I saw that someone had sandwiched together brownies to create twist on the classic Victoria sandwich sponge. So I thought that instead of letting my new heart shaped cutters go to waste after only one use, I knuckled down and brought to you a recipe that is a little more complex than I'm used to but turned out great and I'm quite proud of, if I say so myself.

Ingredients
For The Brownies
- 200g Unsalted Butter
- 200g Dark Chocolate
- 275g Caster Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 35g Cocoa Powder
- 90g Plain Flour
- 100g Chocolate Chips

For The Buttercream
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsp Strawberry Extract
- 1 Tube Of Dr Oetker Pink Gel Food Colouring

Method 
1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a thin baking tray with baking paper.
2- In a bain marie melt the dark chocolate and unsalted butter. I always prefer to melt my chocolate over a bain marie rather than in a microwave as it's lessens it's chances of burning.
3- Once everything has melted together, place to one side and leave to cool until it's room temperature.
4- In a bowl place your sugar and eggs. Whisk until they're double in size, pale in colour and have a mousse like consistency. I find it best to do it with either an electric whisk or in a stand mixer as it can take a little while to get it to the right consistency.
5- Once your chocolate mizture is cool enough, add to the eggs and sugar. Fold in gently as to not knock any of the air you've just created.
6- Sift in your cocoa powder and flour and fold gently again. I like to use this step to scrape around the bowl to make sure there is nothing clinging to the sides and everything is being fully incoporated.
7- Fold in your chocolate chips and then pour into your prepared tin. If you're wondering why you need to use a thinner baking tin, it's so the brownies don't come out too thick and can be easily cut later once they've cooled. I used a swiss roll tin for mine and they came out the perfect thickness.
8- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
9- When they're out of the oven, leave to one side to cool and start on the butter cream. Place you softened butter in a bowl and beat until soft and smooth in consistency.
10- Sift half your icing sugar into the mix and beat until it's combined, remembering to scrape the edges of the bowl so everything gets incorporated.
11- Add the rest of your icing sugar and beat until completely combined. If your buttercream looks a little stiff, you can a teaspoon of milk to just soften it to an easier piping consistency.
12- Add your strawberry extract and pink food colouring. Beat until it's combined, adding more colour where necessary. Once you're happy with your buttercream, place to one side.
13- When your brownies have completely cooled, take your heart shaped cutter and start cutting out matching pairs, using a smaller cutter where necessary to get the most out of your brownies.
14- Lay them out on a cooling rack and spoon your buttercream into a piping bag.
15- Depending on the size of your piping nozzle and the steadiness of your hand, gently pipe around the outline of the heart, working your way in until one half is completely covered in buttercream.
16- When you have half your brownies hearts covered in buttercream, take the remaining plain halves and sandwich them on top of the iced hearts. Try not to press too hard or the icing will ooze out the side.
17- Once all your hearts have been sandwiched together, leave to set on the cooling rack, then share with your bae or loved ones.