Fudge Brownies with Hazelnut Ganache

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

Rich and fudgy homemade brownies are topped with hazelnut ganache. 
5 from 1 vote
Print Rate Save
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12
Author: Amy D.

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

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease a 9x13 pan with no stick spray.
  • 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.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake.
  • 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 12Servings
Did You Make this Recipe?Please leave a review or a photo! I'd love to hear your feedback!

Other Recipes You Might Enjoy

36 Comments

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

  1. These brownies look so great, and here I am with no dang hazelnut spread in my cabinet 🙁 That stuff just doesn’t last in this house. Also can I just say that all your crazy imperfections is what makes people like you not the other way around.

    1. I used the tail end of my jar on these. After my first faux paux brownie towel disaster, I was going to cry if there wasn’t enough left, but there was just barely. My kids down it like crazy too. My daughter got the largest size jar of Nutella for Christmas that they had at costco and ate it all by herself! Thanks for liking me and my blog in spite of my craziness KC, and for laughing at me…you know in the good way.

  2. I agree why do we feel like things have to be perfect before we can start. I think that’s some thing many struggle with. I love the brownies. They look delicious. Wish I could take some from your website. 🙂

    1. I don’t know why we feel like things have to be perfect before we can start. Is it a woman thing? Maybe an American thing? I don’t know. All I know is the sooner we realize that perfect isn’t something we have to strive for, the happier we will all be.

  3. I love the look of the brownies – making me hungry. I also love the idea that home baking doesn’t have to be perfect. Somehow for me that is the point that one isn’t like the others.

    Fiona x

    1. I’m kind of embarrassed that you decided to stop by at a post where I showed myself eating failed brownies off a tea towel! But hey, that’s just who I am. No shame in my game. Haha. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you Sally!

  4. These look so good!! And why is it that things you need to put on a tea towel (and by the way – why is it called ‘tea towel’) always stick? I have a recipe that has to be turned on a towel and no matter how much powdered sugar I put on that towel it always sticks!

    Keep up the good work

    1. Kathie,
      There was no way for you to know it, but “I wonder why that is called that” questions drive me nuts. I HAVE to find out the answers then and there. My family makes fun of me about it. Anyway, tea towels are used for drying dishes, right? In 18th century England, in the time of Lords and Ladies and proper high teas, the mistress of the house would keep a special linen cloth specifically for the purpose of drying her fancy-schmancy and expensive china tea things, it was called her “tea towel.” So now we both know. Thanks for stopping by Kathie. I always enjoy your comments.

  5. I love you. SO much for this post!!!! I LOVE your selfies, and your honest revelations and for SHARING them!!! It makes me want to climb through the screen and hug you!!

    *And eat BOTH of your creations… because, um YUM, whether they are a glorious mess of chocolate or a delightful site of chocolate.*

    1. Chris,
      I love your comments! You make me feel like I might be doing something right after all. 🙂 Thank you so very much for all your support and encouragement. It means the world to me!

  6. 3 things.

    1. I LOVE your Hulk shirt.
    2. These look DIVINE.
    3. Imperfection is the reason I want to start posting chocolate recipes onto my blog now! I am in no way a good cook. Heck, I can’t even boil water. But this post did really inspire me 😉

    1. Ashley,
      Thanks! We are a family of comic book freaks and geeks, lol. There was a point when I was in no way a good cook. I once tried to make egg nog from scratch in the microwave. I mean, in my defense, I was like 10 and the microwave was the only thing I was allowed to cook with, but still it came out this steaming hot cylinder of sweet nutmeg spiced scrambled egg…thing. Point being we all have to start somewhere and you can do it!

    1. Yes, Logan, you need chocolate first thing in the morning! It will make your baby happy, plus when you are pregnant you can get away with eating brownies for breakfast without having to make any explanations to anyone.

    1. Mary,
      I’ll admit that by the time I was ready to hit publish I was having second thoughts about the failed pictures, but I’m glad I left them. Thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind words.

5 from 1 vote

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating