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Fudge Brownies with Hazelnut Ganache

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Okay, I’m just going to be real with you guys. Today I had a ginormous reminder of one of the main reasons I wanted to start a recipe blog…

Imperfection.

Say, what?

How could imperfection be a motivator for starting a blog? Well for a while I told myself that I was not smart enough to learn how to run a website, that I was too old, that I wasn’t pretty enough to run a recipe blog or put my face on the internet, that my personality was too weird, that people wouldn’t relate to my experiences, that my crabshack themed kitchen was too ugly…the list goes on. If you read the about me page, you’ll see that this year has kind of reeked havoc on my self-esteem. I was at a low point earlier this year, but instead of dwelling on the things I wanted to label as wrong with me, I decided to own up to them instead and move on. Because, no matter what how someone portrays themselves, we’re all imperfect! Completely and wonderfully flawed in ways that make us humble, relatable and human.

twobrownies

 The world tells us to cover up our imperfections, never show our flaws or weaknesses or no one will like us.  Well, I’ve always been a non-conformist so it is inherent to my nature to go against that.  More than that, I don’t really want to be perfect. Average and full of the flaws that make me me is good enough. I want to be a voice out here that you can relate to. Running a recipe blog, it is my job to show you dishes that are staged, plated, and photographed just as beautifully as they can be.  I really enjoy that and I work hard to do my best at presenting my readers with beautiful, enticing dishes.

But guess what?

There are times when what I think is going to be a brilliant idea falls apart into a giant mess. Take for instance this idea, a brownie roll with spiked whipped cream and topped with dark chocolate ganache. An indulgent grown up Little Debbie Swiss Cake roll with fudgy brownie.  Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

browniewcrumb

You know what I ended up with? A tea towel caked with smooshed and broken brownie globs.  I threw away that brown, brownied, failure-iffic tea towel of mess (there was no way to salvage that thing) and tried again. This time keeping it simple–homemade fudge brownies with  hazelnut ganache.

brownietray

 Perfect? No.

Fabulous in spite of the flawed start? Absolutely!

square brownie

 I hope that you guys will really enjoy these. If you are a hard core chocoholic, trust me, you will.  These fudge brownies are about as simple to make as a boxed brownie mix, but taste soo much better. The hazelnut ganache is also a quick fix and it turns out so sinfully dark and rich. I dug into my hidden stash of “mental health chocolate” and crushed some Ferrero Rocher over the tops just for fun. Have a wonderfully flawed week being your own brand of you!

Fudge Brownies with Hazelnut Ganache

Fudge Brownies with Hazelnut Ganache

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Rich and fudgy homemade brownies are topped with hazelnut ganache. 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup hazelnut spread
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease a 9x13 pan with no stick spray.
  3. In a large microwavable bowl, melt the butter in the microwave at 50% power. Add in the sugar, vanilla, and eggs, mixing well. Next mix in the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Spread the batter in your prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake.
  5. While the brownies are still warm from the oven, make the ganache. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan until it is almost to the point of boiling. Remove from the heat and add in the chocolate chips. Whisk together until they are all melted and smooth. Add in the hazelnut spread and whisk again until smooth. This may be kind of runny. Pour it over the brownies. It will set up as it cools, though if you desire it to set up faster you may stick it in the fridge.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a review or a photo! I'd love to hear your feedback!

Insanely Roy

Monday 13th of July 2015

i would like to try that! tea towel platter with that brown beauty on it but sadly with me , i would probably it in the oven ttray. i love how you made imperfection sound so appealing. same pinch!

http://pieceofcerebrum.wordpress.com

Insanely Roy

Monday 13th of July 2015

i followed you on fb. i would live to stay connected :)

Jennifer

Thursday 26th of March 2015

Nice selfies! Baking is hard sometimes. I'm sure I would have done the same tiwel mess. You're braver than I!

Amy

Thursday 26th of March 2015

Haha! I'm glad that you liked the selfies. They were special, huh?

Yum Girl

Wednesday 25th of March 2015

Thank you so much for posting such a lovely recipe on YG! It is gorgeous. As the new co-owners, we hope you will continue to submit - we are expanding and upgrading everything and even have a new mobile app for android! Kelli at Yum Goggle

Amy

Saturday 28th of March 2015

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking it out at the source!

Nanny

Wednesday 25th of March 2015

My daughter made these last night and they're even better than you can imagine. Heavenly!

Amy

Wednesday 25th of March 2015

That makes me so happy! I'm glad that you guys loved them.

Pat

Wednesday 25th of March 2015

This batch of brownies looks wonderful! And, I love the sound of the hazelnut ganache, I'm gonna do it :)

Amy

Wednesday 25th of March 2015

The ganache is what sends them over the top into the chocoholic zone! Let me know what you think, when you make them.

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