Creme Filled Brownie Bites

Crème Filled Brownie Bites ~ Brownies and crème.  Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson. What do the Two Fat Ladies and crème filled brownies bites have in common? Nothing, other than some things are made better by the other half.

If you have never seen their show, Two Fat Ladies, look them up on You Tube. While their fully fat laden cooking maybe out of vogue, I’m pretty sure you can still enjoy their humor – the ladies are hilarious.

As for the brownie team up in this recipe, I filled the brownies with a simple pastry cream. I love how it evens out the richness of the chocolate, while adding a nice textural contrast to the fudge like brownie. And yes, more sprinkles – they make me smile, so I added some.

So it seems that aside from the sprinkle run, I’m all about stuffing desserts lately (another one coming up tomorrow). I’m sure in a few days, the sprinkle and stuffing run will be replaced with a new infatuation and you’ll see a few recipes incorporating my new found love .

For now its sprinkles and stuffed desserts, combining the two for this post I give you . . . Crème Filled Brownie Bites. Enjoy!

A few notes:

• If you are familiar with making cake balls, this is the same idea; with no binder since the brownie texture is almost fudge like and therefore provides enough moisture to bind the brownie crumbs into a ball.
• Your palate your preference, you can easily change out the crème filled portion for peanut butter, Nutella or pretty much anything you can think of. I’m thinking my next one will be a cookie dough filled one on a stick.
• For an Easter twist, dip the brownie filled bites in some pastel colored candy melts instead of chocolate.

Creme Filled Brownie Bites

Makes 24 Brownie Bites

Classic Brownies

Adapted from Alice Medrich

Preparation: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover 8×8 pan with bake spray.

Ingredients:

Brownies:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour

Pastry Cream:

(Click here for a step-by-step tutorial)

• 2 cup of whole milk
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 large egg yolks
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Pouring Sauce:

• 2/3 cups dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
• 4-5 tablespoons water, warm

Instructions:

Brownies:

1. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute.
2. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownie starts to pull away from the sides of pan. While brownies are baking prepare ice bath. Fill a pan with ices cubes and water ¾ inch deep (yes, this really does help the brownie). When the brownies are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it in the water bath. Allow brownies too cool completely in the water bath.

Pastry Cream:

1. Combine cornstarch and ½ cup milk and stir to dissolve. Beat whole eggs and yolks into corn mixture; set aside. Prepare an ice bath; set aside.
2. Combine remaining milk with sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove sauce pan from heat and transfer mixture to a new pan to reduce any residual heat. Set aside and cool milk mixture for 5 minutes.
3. Slowly add egg mixture into hot milk stirring constantly so the eggs do not curdle. Return mixture to stovetop and stir vigorously until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to stir until the whisk leaves a trail in the pastry cream, about 5-7 minutes. Once pastry cream reaches this stage, remove sauce pan from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Transfer the saucepan to the ice bath. Stir occasionally until pastry cream is cool about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Pouring Sauce:

1. 1. Place chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl over simmering water. Let chocolate and cream sit for 2-3 minutes to melt without stirring. Then slowly stir mixture to combine. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition until pouring consistency is reached. Set aside and let sauce cool to warm.

Assembly:

1. Crumble brownie into small pieces with a  food processor or with your hands. Measure out a heaping tablespoon and roll brownie crumbs into a ball. Using your finger or the round end of an object, create a well. Fill that well with your pastry cream or your choice of filling.
2. Measure out ¼ teaspoon of brownie crumb, using your fingers flatten it into a circle then place it on top of the crème filled well. Refrigerate brownie bites for at least 30minutes or overnight.
3. Remove chilled brownie bites and dip in chocolate glaze or candy melts.