Happy World Nutella Day 2011!

Ya, that’s right – as decreed by Ms. Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso, in what is quite blatantly a stroke of pure genius, today is World Nutella Day!

So to celebrate the general awesomeness that is Nutella, I’ve made these rather fabulous Nutella fudge brownies…  I came across the recipe a while ago, and it’s sort of been sitting at the back of my mind – the original recipe only asked for four ingredients (!) and seemed fairly quick and straightforward.  Perfect for a bit of procrastination!

I also really liked that they are baked in muffin cases – it’s something a little different (for brownies) and I have some silicone muffin moulds that I’m totally obsessed with.  I also have some silicone mini muffin moulds (you know where I’m going with this, don’t you…?) so I decided to make both “normal” sized ones and mini ones.  The mini ones were slightly less fudgy, but they were still so good with the bonus of being bite-sized and totally adorable!

Nutella fudge brownies

Makes 6 “normal” sized or 14 mini brownies (in muffin cases)
Adapted from One Ordinary Day

This was a super-easy recipe, apart from one minor detail: the original recipe uses American cups, and I don’t have any cups.  So I looked online for a conversion for cups of Nutella.  I found one site that said 1 cup was equivalent to 300g of Nutella, and another that said it was equivalent to 390g – slight difference!  So I decided to average them and go for 350g.  They tasted good, so I can’t have been too far out!  I also added a tiny bit of kirsch to bring the chocolate flavour out a bit more.  The original recipe also suggests sprinkling some crushed hazelnuts on top of the brownies before putting them in the oven – something to try next time.  Also, a word of advice, double the recipe – it will save you the hassle of immediately making a second batch!

Ingredients

175g Nutella
1 egg
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp of kirsch

Directions

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.  Line 6 muffin holes with paper liners (or set out silicone moulds).

2.  Whisk the Nutella and eggs together in a bowl.  Once smooth and well-blended, add the flour, cinnamon and kirsch, and continue whisking until well blended.

3.  Spoon the mixture into the muffin liners, filling them about ¾ full.  Bake for 12 mins (7-8 mins for the mini ones) and cool on a wire rack (leave them in the silicone cases – it makes them even more moist).  Serve immediately or store for up to 3 days in an airtight container (I defy you to leave these lying around for 3 days!)

Enjoy!

Nutella fudge brownies