These Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies are dense, moist chocolate brownies, filled with hazelnuts and smothered in a layer of amazing hazelnut buttercream.
I’m not sure if it’s a thing or not but Easter always reminds me of hazelnuts. Are hazelnuts and Easter a thing? I dunno but I know that hazelnuts and chocolate go together like flowers and Springtime.
This had me setting out to create these Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies for Easter. These are delicious rich brownies filled with hazelnuts and topped with the most delicious hazelnut buttercream.
Dense and moist but not gooey
These are moist chocolate brownies and just a little dense but not gooey. But whether you love gooey brownies or less gooey brownies, please continue reading. It’s that lighter than normal texture that allows us to get away with smothering it in a layer of hazelnut buttercream.
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Toast your nuts
It’s great if you can use toasted hazelnuts as they will give the best flavour. If you can’t buy them already toasted, just toast them yourself in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan every so often until they look and smell toasty. You can also just use regular untoasted hazelnuts if you prefer.
How to make chocolate brownies
One of the great things about this recipe is that its very simple to make. Just mix wet ingredients into dry and bake it. So incredibly simple, and you can have chocolate hazelnut brownies ready to devour in no time. You can eat them warm and fresh out of the oven with a little ice cream or on their own.
That hazelnut buttercream
Or you can go that extra mile. Wait for them cool and smother them in a decadent layer of hazelnut buttercream. This is the same buttercream I used on my Easter Hazelnut Cake last year and I just love it.
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Anyway, enjoy making these and please let me know if you do. I’d love to hear what you think.
Have you tried this recipe? Rate it below or comment with any questions or thoughts.
Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies
Ingredients
For the chocolate hazelnut brownie
- 3/4 cup (95g / 3.5oz) plain (all purpose) flour
- 50 g (2oz) cocoa
- 55 g (1/2 cup/ 2 oz) hazelnut meal (ground hazelnut)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 150 g (3/4 cup / 5.5oz) packed dark brown sugar
- 50 g (1/4 cup / 2oz) white granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup (160g / 5.5oz) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
For the hazelnut buttercream
- 80 g (3oz) toasted hazelnuts
- 100 g (3.5oz) white chocolate chopped
- 113 g (1 stick / 1/2 cup) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cups icing (powdered / confectioners) sugar
- 2 tablespoons thickened cream (notes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Toppings
- Small handful of toasted hazelnuts roughly chopped
- Grated dark chocolate
Instructions
For the chocolate hazelnut brownies
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced and set aside a 4x10 inch rectangular tart tin.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, then add the hazelnut meal and two sugars. Mix well.
- Add the melted butter and stir gently, then mix in the eggs, chopped hazelnuts and vanilla. Mix it all together with a spoon until well combined.
- Pour the chocolate fudge batter into the baking tin and spread it out evenly. Bake for around 20 minutes until almost done (a toothpick should come out still a bit sticky). Allow it to cool completely in the tin.
For the hazelnut buttercream
- Melt the white chocolate, then allow it to cool a little while you get on with the buttercream
- Use a blender to grind the toasted hazelnuts as fine as you can
- Beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and cream. Use a sieve to sift the ground hazelnuts over the butter mixture, pushing through what you can, then discard the larger pieces. Beat well.
- Add the cooled white chocolate and beat on medium-high for 3 minutes until it looks whipped and creamy.
- Spread of pipe the hazelnut cream over the top of the brownie
- Top with extra hazelnuts and grated chocolate
Notes
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (4 teaspooons worldwide)
- For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
TOOLS USE IN THIS RECIPE
- A handheld beater
- A simple silicone spatula so nothing gets left behind
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4 Comments on “Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies with Hazelnut Buttercream”
Hey, these look amazing and I can’t wait to try them! I bake a lot around Christmas and send gift boxes to friends, family and neighbours, but this usually involves two or three days of exhaustive baking all in one go! This year I’m trying to make some recipes in advance and freeze them, so the workload is a little more spread out. Do you know if this recipe would freeze well? I know some doughs can be kept frozen for weeks, and some baked goods can be frozen, too. If these brownies can be frozen after cooking, I assume they would be best frozen before adding the frosting? Thanks!
Hello Eleanor. I totally understand those few days of exhaustive baking. Yes, you can freeze these, even with the buttercream 🙂
Decadent chocolate brownies with hazelnuts? Infeed, this would be already enough to get my attention. Instead you opted for the hazelnut buttercream which makes these brownies sound even more fantastic. What can I say? I’m sold!
Thanks so much Ben 🙂