Ferrero Rocher Brownies Bites with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

Ferrero Rocher Brownie Bites with Nutella Frosting - made November 30, 2012 from a Tastebook recipe

Back to another new dessert I made for my dessert party last week.....

I love Ferrero Rocher.  As in I love it so much I rarely buy a box because I will eat it.  All of it.  I think it's the soft chocolate center inside the crispy shell that sucks me in.  So when I saw this recipe on pinterest that has a Ferrero Rocher atop a brownie base and covered in caramel icing, my first thought was inevitably, "genius!  pure genius!"  I modified the recipe to avert those blasphemous words "brownie mix" and subbed in a from-scratch brownie recipe I wanted to try.  Instead of caramel sauce, I used nutella to flavor the frosting.  I was making this for my dessert party so I didn't have time to make homemade caramel or risk it failing if I didn't make it correctly and I thought nutella frosting would be appropriate for a candy with a hazelnut in the middle.

The original recipe calls for making these in muffin tins but I used my mini cheesecake pans with the removable bottoms because they were the perfect size for the Ferrero Rocher (not too big or too little) and the removable bottoms meant I could easily remove them from the pans.  If you have one, I highly recommend using it for this recipe.  The brownie recipe below does make for slightly delicate brownies and at first I wasn't going to include the recipe here since it did give me a little grief because they were fragile, especially when warm.  But I admit they tasted really good with the candy and frosting once they cooled so I've added it below.  However, feel free to use your own brownie recipe.  You want one that's fudgy as opposed to cakey and a dark chocolate brownie is preferable since the frosting is sweet.  This was probably one of the most inspired concoctions I made for my dessert party and another keeper for future years.  One of my guests said it was her favorite ever.  Yay - a hit!

1 recipe of homemade brownies (recipe below or use your favorite fudgy brownie recipe)
24 Ferrero Rocher candies
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2-3 tablespoons nutella
1 cup confectioners sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed, to achieve the right consistency

1. Remove all wrappers from the candies.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
2. Prepare brownie batter (recipe below or use your own). Grease a mini-muffin tin (or mini cheesecake pan with removable bottoms) with cooking spray and fill each cup approximately 1/2 full with batter. Bake for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately press a candy into the center of each brownie bite, embedding halfway in.
3. Cool for a few minutes in the tin then carefully remove the brownie bites from the pan to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
4. To make the frosting, use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer and beat the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Add the nutella and just enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Using a pastry or plastic bag with a piping tip, pipe the frosting onto the top of each brownie bite (or alternatively, you can frost by hand with a small metal spatula). Best served the same day they're made.

Fudge Brownies, recipe adapted from Indulge by Claire Clark
5 ounces 70% dark chocolate

7 ounces unsalted butter
3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

10 ounces dark brown sugar

2 ¾ ounces all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1.     Preheat the oven to 325⁰F.  Place butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water to melt.  Once melted, remove the bowl from the pan.  

2.     Whisk the eggs, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and doubled in volume.  Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt and fold them in.  Combine the warm melted chocolate and butter and fold them in too. 

3.     Spoon into prepared pans, filling slightly less than halfway.  Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Do not overbake.  After removing from the oven, place an unwrapped Ferrero Rocher into the center of each brownie round and embed halfway in. Cool slightly in the pan then gently lift out and cool completely before frosting.