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.

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Brownies

Brownies, who doesn't love a good brownie. They used to be my absolute nemesis when it came to baking turning more into a bread than a cake. However I can safely say that those days are passed and all my brownies now look like this. Delicious chunks of chocolatey goodness that get rave reviews from everyone, including my area manager at work. And with Christmas approaching, I started to think of flavours that made me think of Christmas. Gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, the taste of shortbread and mint. It reminds me of After Eights, candy canes and Aero Mint. I originally planned these to be shaped like Christmas trees but I've nothing but mishap after mishap with my cutters this year so I kept them to their fudgy chocolate filled squares.

Ingredients 
200g Dark Chocolate
200g Unsalted Butter
275g Caster Sugar
90g Plain Flour
35g Cocoa Powder
3 Eggs
100g Dark Chocolate Chips
2 Tsp Peppermint Extract

Method
1- Pre heat the oven to 180C. Grease a 9 Inch square brownie tin with greaseproof paper.
2- Into a bain marie place the dark chocolate and butter. Over a low heat, melt the two together, taking care to keep the heat down low so the chocolate doesn't catch and burn.
3- Once everything is melted together, place it to one side to cool down.
4- Into a seperate bowl place the sugar and the eggs. Whisk together until the mixture is pale, double in size and leaves a trail when you pull the whisk out. This is the only part of the recipe where you can use a higher speed on your electric mixer, everything else has to be slow or you'll end up knocking out the air you've just created.
5- Take your now cooled chocolate mix and pour into the sugar mix. Fold gently to keep the air into the mixture but remembering to scrape the side of the bowl so everything gets fully incoporated into the mix.
6- Add the flour and the cocoa powder and fold gently into the mixture. Again this part requires slow, gentle folding actions to keep the air in the mixture. However you will need to scrape the sides of the bowl as the flour and the cocoa powder will stick to it and you don't want to end up with pockets of flour in your brownies.
7- Pour in your chocolate chips and peppermint extract. You don't have to add the full two teaspoons and I was worried it was going to taste like toothpaste with two teaspoons but I've been reassured it's the perfect counterpart to the chocolate. Again fold everything in whether with your mixer or a silicone spatula.
8- Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
9- Leave to cool completely in the tin. This helps it keep it's shape and gives them a chunkiness that a lot of brownies lack.
10- Once cool, cut into squares or chunks. Then all that's left to do is enjoy them or take them into your work and woo the management like I did.