Chocolate Brownies with Nutella & Peanut Butter Topping

WARNING! SINFUL TREATS ALERTS!

For those who are watching on their diet, I'd suggest you DO NOT continue reading this! I'm serious!

As for the brave ones, PROCEED to scroll down, you're in for an indulging Treat!

Team Black & White

This is such a long overdue post. Few weeks ago, I had some alone time at home with my pampered little black & white pet schnauzer, Oreo!
Anyway, I didn't feel like heading out on Saturday, so I scoured through my kitchen for something that I can put together and make myself a meal to fill my stomach for the day.

Then, i came across 2 jars of Nutella & 1 jar of Chunky Peanut Butter! So, i thought to myself, "Why waste these amazing God-sent yummies?! Why not whip something up out of them?" And Voilà! Brownies would definitely go well with these 2 babies!

I'm pretty sure everyone loves Brownies. It's a great sweet moist chocolate-y treat for any occasions to share with your friends and families, or you could just keep them all to yourself! Imagine those crusty top when you take your first bite, followed by the wonderfully moist texture melting in your mouth~ Drooling yet? Now, try incorporating that imagination with the warm fudgy combination of heavenly hazelnut and chocolate spread, together with the nutty flavor and the small crunch of the peanut butter...Now that's one hell of a reason for you to make one of these for yourself!

"Nutella trumps Peanut Butter any day!", they said.

 I'd say, "Together, they're unstoppable!"
So, get your oven ready and your tummy ready, we're going to war!

Ingredients:

• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup good quality dark chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup brewed coffee (optional)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup Nutella & 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (ratio wise, you can actually mix on your own liking)
• Chopped Walnuts/ Hazelnuts
• Cookie & Cream Ice Cream (optional, or any other ice cream flavor depending on your own preference)

NOTE:

For the chocolate ingredients, i chose to use good quality ones, because these are the main factor that determines the taste outcome of the Brownies, so you'd want to the same too! For the dark chocolate, i used 80% noir dark chocolate imported from Belgium, which i bought from the Bakery. It's okay if you use different ones as to mine, i'm sure your local Bakery shopkeeper will offer you something awesome too! As for my cocoa powder, i used Van Houten Soluble Cocoa Powder. It's great because it's suitable for baking and drinking! You can whip up your own cocoa drink with it too, how convenient!
As for the brewed coffee, of course you can leave this out. However, the coffee actually gives you a richer and amazing flavor to the Brownies. Don't be worried about the coffee overpowering the chocolate-y flavor that you put so much effort in your chocolate ingredients, because the coffee actually enhance the indulgence more!
On top of that, I used chunky peanut butter rather than the smooth ones, because i want the topping to have a tat bits of that nutty crunch to the Brownie top!

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a double boiler. Alternatively, if you don't have a double boiler, what i do is melt them in a pot over a pan of simmering water. Stir constantly (you don't want the mixture to burn underneath) until smooth and well-combined; then leave to cool for 5 minutes.
3. At the meantime, sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder together.
4. Add the coffee to the chocolate mixture and stir.
5. Then, whisk the eggs. Add the chocolate mixture (a little bit at a time) to the eggs and whisk.
6. Add the Vanilla Essence and mix. Pour in the flour mixture and sugar, stir well to combine.
7. Stir in the chopped nuts.
8. Line a square baking tin with baking paper, with an extra 1cm on the sides, so that it's easier for you to remove the Brownies later on.
9. Pour the batter into the baking tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
10. Now you wait, it's kind of a torture because that rich warm aroma of the Brownies, struggling to hush out from the oven! The smell is tempting, that you can't help yourself to take a peek into the oven~
11. When it's ready, take it out from the oven and let it cool for a bit. The texture is supposed to look like a thin crusty top, but squidgy and soft at the bottom. When you remove the Brownies and place it on a flat surface tray (I did not place it on a cooling rack because I don't want to ruin the Brownies), the top might crack up a bit. Bear in mind, it's normal! DO NOT pop the Brownies back into the oven! I know you might be thinking it's not ready yet, but trust me, it's perfect, it's supposed to be of that gooey texture.
12. While waiting for the Brownies to cool, pop in the Nutella & Peanut Butter together in a microwaveable bowl and microwave it with Medium heat in about 20 - 30 seconds intervals, until you achieve a runny texture. Stir to combine.
13. Drop the Nutella mixture in blobs around the Brownie's surface, and spread it evenly covering the whole top of the Brownies. Be careful, as the Brownie is quite delicate.
14. When the Brownies are at room temperature, refrigerate for a few hours. Be patient, great things take time...
15. When the Brownies are cold, by then you should have that dense, soft and squidgy consistency, which makes it easier for you to cut them into square pieces.

I know, i know...You must be thinking, "Brownies are supposed to be hot!"

What I did was, I took 1 piece of it, place it on a microwavable plate, and reheat it for about 1 minute, and Ta-daah! Warm Brownies~~

Compliment the Brownie with a scoop of Ice Cream, drizzle it with a little bit of Warm Nutella sauce, garnish it with a few slices of strawberries if you want, the list goes on! Be creative~

I take about 1 tablespoon of Nutella and mix it with a bit of warm milk and microwave it for awhile, and stir it. If the mixture became clumpy and not as runny as it should've been, add in a bit more warm milk and start stirring.



The End Result! Such Sinful Treats!

Top it with some Ice Cream

 

Loving it yet? Because I certainly do...so do my family, colleagues and friends!

As what one of my friend told me,

" It's like heaven! Much better than sex!"

Even my picky and with high standard taste bud boyfriend said it was nice, but he did complain about the topping being too sweet for his liking. Like I've stated on top at the list of ingredients, proportionate the amount of Nutella & Peanut Butter to your preference. If it's too sweet, i'd suggest, melt some dark chocolate and stir it in together with your Nutella mixture, the bitterness in dark chocolate will balance off the sweetness.

Of course, I am very much flattered with all the compliments i've get for the Brownies!  But what really makes me happy and warms my heart, was to see people that I love enjoyed what I put my heart and effort to make... I hope this post brings the same to you! ♥♥