There are ‘tings that need no explanation. You just see it and immediately you want it.
You need it.
You crave it.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT!
This…
this is one of those ‘tings…
This past Easter Mr. Fantabulous decided that I needed the day off. He was going to do the cooking, clean up… everything. He was taking care of it all. Well, he most certainly did! We had Easter dinner with our friends and their family. LOL At first I was pretty hesitant as well it’s Easter and I cook.
That’s what I do. Don’t get me wrong, I love our friends and his family – totally amazing people who I’m truly blessed to have in our lives but… I cook. Right?! But Mr.Fantabulous wanted me to relax and take it easy since I was on SUPER HIGH RUSH WORK WORK WORK for the past few months so I said ok BUT…
yes, there’s always a but with me… but I wasn’t going unless I was making something to take. I wasn’t raised that way. You never showed up empty-handed. Never! You can ask any of my friends, that’s not how I am. I think that’s the main reason they stay friends with me. *wink* LOL.. I hope! haha
So after many “I’m not going unless your Mother tells me what to make” statements I was told to bring a dessert. Simple enough. But you know me, I can’t just go simple. I mean some of the folks there I hadn’t met so I wanted to impress plus it’s Easter. The dessert should be stunning. This post is just one of the desserts I took. You’ll have to be patient with the other one.
Since I knew my friend’s father was a HUGE chocoholic this immediately popped into mind. Now normally I’ll make this as a large tart but since there were going to be a bunch of people there I opted to make them single servings plus I had another dessert.
It was easy, portable, and just so damn cute. Now with this recipe, I give you everything from scratch but please feel free to save time and use a boxed brownie mix. I’ll do my best not to judge you… I just prefer homemade plus honestly, these brownies ROCK! How about we only use a boxed mix for the sake of expediency but only when it’s absolutely necessary? Sound good?
Pinkie swear? *wink*
The only really hard part (and it’s not really hard to be honest) is making the mousse. It just takes a few extra steps but trust me, it’s SO worth it. This mousse is creamy, light, and fluffy. I *may or may not* have made a double batch of it so I could keep some more me… er us (damn it!). Now if you’re totally against licking the beaters or spatula (what’s wrong with you anyway???), you NEED to do it after you make this. I’m telling you… OMG! Seriously it’s LIFE CHANGING! You will NOT want to stop eating this! But please do… unless you make a double batch. Shhhhh!
Now what was funny is as I was cleaning off the spatula (with my mouth), Mr. Fantabulous walks into the kitchen and busts me. I get the “AH HA! BUSTED! Wait! Where’s mine??? WTH dude?!” Wait.. did my husband just ‘Dude’ me??? So, I had to get a clean spatula and dip it in for him. Clearly, that was NOT enough as I got the look of “Please sir, may I have some more porridge?” Oliver Twist-like. Swear to God he’s my man-child. So I got a bowl out, scooped some into it, and fed the big baby. So damn spoiled!
So about 2 hours before we were to leave I assembled these which couldn’t be more fun. Literally, you coat the insides with melted chocolate then pipe in that luscious mousse. Garnish with some shaved chocolate and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Now I must confess that a few (okay 6) of these didn’t make it to Easter as well I was being selfish and wanted them.
However by the time we got home and I got up the next day for work the “Easter Bunny” must have broken into my house (along with that damn rooster) and eaten them all because they “mysteriously” disappeared. Now when I asked my angelic husband he said those two must have broken in. As his story went on how he heard something ‘hopping’ out in the kitchen and the crow of a rooster and how he had to fight them to get them out of the house. My only response was “But if they ate them all, how come you have chocolate around the corners of your mouth???”
Silence…
Like I said; he’s my man-child! LOL So love that man!
PrintChocolate Dipped Brownie Cups with Chocolate Mousse Filling
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Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- almost 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon chocolate extract (can substitute in vanilla)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
Chocolate Mousse
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 3 large eggs, separated and whites placed in the fridge for another use
- 3 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
Coating
- 1 cup chopped chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl; set aside.
- Bring a pot with 1” of water to a simmer – you’re going to be creating a double boiler (use a double boiler if you have one).
- In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt.
- Set the bowl over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture warm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Do not let your bowl touch the water.
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment; set aside.
- Using that same simmering water, put your chocolate in a bowl and set atop of it and heat until melted.
- Beat the egg yolk mixture until it is slightly thickened and paler yellow, and forms a ribbon when the whisk is lifted from the bowl ~ 3 minutes.
- Remove the mixer bowl from the stand.
- Add the warm melted chocolate and whisk by hand until smooth; set aside
- Either with your stand mixer with the whisk attachment or hand mixer with beaters, pour the cream into a bowl and beat until medium peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until there are no visible streaks of white.
- Place the mousse into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip or place it in a large plastic baggie leaving room at the one tip to snip off later.
- Place the bag into the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle.
- Spray 2 cupcake pans lightly with cooking spray.
- In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler stirring occasionally. Essentially you want to bring about 1” of water to a simmer then place your bowl that has the butter and chocolate in it over top but NOT touching the water.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Stir in the sugar, salt, and chocolate extract.
- With a sturdy mixing spoon, beat the eggs in one at a time until blended.
- Add flour, espresso, baking powder and cocoa and beat until the batter is just smooth. Don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into the cupcake wells about 2/3’s up.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean – a few moist crumbs are okay.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and take a tart shaper (or something that is about the size of a quarter in diameter) and press down in the center of the brownies making sure not to go all the way down. You are creating the well.
- While cooling take a thin blade and go along the edges to loosen.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes and carefully remove the brownie cups from the pans.
- Cool completely on the rack.
- Place a 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate inside the cups and swirl around to coat the inside. You may need to use a spoon for this.
- When all the centers are coated, carefully dip the tops of the cups in the melted chocolate letting any excess drip off.
- When the chocolate has set, pipe in the chocolate mousse.
- Top with shaved chocolate.
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