Nutella Cheesecake Mousse Brownie Bites

Well, I was feeling lazy about posting today again, but I shouldn't make Samuel do it for me every week, even though he does such an awesome job.

This week, I have some nice little chocolate bombs to introduce you to. They're basically just little brownies stuffed with a fluffy Nutella cheesecake mousse. I don't know if I really need to say anything else about them.

But I will...

Samuel liked these so much that after they were all gone, he said, "Hey, those were good. You should make them again sometime."

"Sometime" meaning some undesignated time in the semi-distant future, I assumed.

The next day... "Hey, didn't you say you were going to make those brownie things again?"

"What, like right now?" I asked.

"Oh, not necessarily," he said, shrugging nonchalantly, "I mean, they were just really good."

"What if I made them as regular brownies and made the mousse as the frosting?" I asked, bored, as always, at the idea of making the exact same thing twice in a row.

"Well, sure, if that's easier. But I really liked them exactly how they were."

Of course, what should I expect. This is the guy who has asked for three over easy eggs and toast every single morning for breakfast since I've ever known him. This is the guy that I don't even bother to ask what he wants for dinner anymore because the answer, without fail, is always burritos.

But, sometimes, Samuel is right. Sometimes something is just so good that you have to stick with it. Apparently these brownies are one of those things.

So basically what you do is just bake a bunch of brownies in a muffin tin. Don't use paper liners. The brownies will just stick to them (a mistake I made on round two).

Once the brownies are done and cooled, you make them into little cups for you mousse by pressing a hole into them with your hand lotion bottle.

Okay, so actually a shot glass or something like that would probably be better for this. I just didn't happen to have one. Instead my lotion has turned into a moisturizing chocolate scrub for my hands. I'm not really complaining.

So, let's talk about this mousse. It only takes four ingredients: Nutella, cream cheese, chocolate, and whipped cream.

The cream cheese was on sale the other day, so I got really pumped and bought a bunch of it. Mostly I was pumped because I was so proud of myself for knowing it was on sale even though everything is in German. It's crazy how many things you can see has a glorious triumph when you're living in a foreign country.

So anyway, you should totally make these. I think I'll go make another batch myself right now.

Tschüss!

• • Nutella Cheesecake Mousse Brownie Bites
  • Makes 12
  • For the brownies:
  • 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • For the mousse:
  • 6 tablespoons softened cream cheese (about 3 oz. or 85 g)
  • 6 tablespoons Nutella
  • 1/4 cup chopped milk chocolate or milk chocolate chips (45 grams)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Preheat the panggangan to 350ºF. Liberally butter a muffin tin.
  • In the microwave or in a pot on the stove, combine the butter and sugar. Cook until bubbly, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the eggs and vanilla and quickly whisk together.
  • Stir together all the dry ingredients and stir into the rest until smooth. Divide batter into muffin tin.
  • Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
  • When they're cool, use a shot glass or anything else with a small top to press a hole into each brownie. When they're completely cool, fill with mousse.
  • To make the mousse, mix together the Nutella and cream cheese.
  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a double broiler and stir into the cream cheese and Nutella.
  • Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Stir about half of it into the Nutella mixture to soften it, then fold the rest in. Use to fill Brownies.
  • Top with melted Nutella and chocolate curls. Store in the refrigerator.