Easter brownie (strawberry, chocolate, hazelnut)

In one week it's Easter, so it was time for me to make a chocolate recipe for this year! I decided to make an Easter brownie with the first strawberries of the season, in the shape of an egg of course. It's an easy recipe that requires very little equipment, and you can adapt it to any shape you want since you can make a cardboard template in the shape you want to cut out the brownie. Follow the recipe, and you will get a surprise egg brownie that hides a praline crunch, a creamy ganache, fresh strawberries and a vanilla whipped cream J
 
 

 
 Prep time : 1h15 + 15 minutes cooking + at least 1 hour rest
 For a 26cm on 20cm egg / 10 servings :

 

Brownie :

 330g butter
 300g dark 66% chocolate
 6 eggs
 180g dark sugar
 180g sugar
 130g flour
 1 large pinch of fleur de sel
 300 mixed chocolate chips (I put 75g dark chocolate, 75g milk chocolate, 75g dulcey chocolate, 75g white chocolate)
 
 The quantities may seem large, but you'll have quite a bit of brownie scraps to get the right egg shape to fill, unless you have the right shape pan. The brownie keeps well in an airtight box for several days, and you can also freeze it.

 Melt the chocolate and the butter.
 
 

 

 
 Whisk the eggs with the sugars.
 
 

 
 Add the chocolate and butter, then the flour and fleur de sel.
 
 

 
 Finally add the chocolate chips.
 
 

 

 
 Divide the dough in half, and pour each half into a 26cm square frame.
 
 

 
 Bake the brownies in the preheated oven at 160°C for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting them.
 
 

 
 Cut each square into an egg shape about 26cm long and 20cm wide (I cut the desired shape from a piece of cardboard to have two eggs of the same size).
 
 

 

 
 Cut out the inside of one of the two eggs and place it on top of the other.
 
 

 

 
 

Praliné crunch :

 40g Azelia milk chocolate
 60g praliné
 40g crêpes dentelles
 
 Melt the chocolate, then add the praliné and the crumbled crêpes dentelles.
 
 

 
 Spread the crunch on the brownie, then put it in the fridge until the chocolate cristallyse.
 
 

 
 

Azelia ganache :

 50g liquid cream
 65g praliné
 70g azelia chocolate
 10g honey
 20g butter
 
 Melt the chocolate, then add the praliné.
 
 

 
 Heat the cream with the honey, then pour it in three times on the chocolate-praline, mixing well to have a smooth and shiny ganache. Then add the butter cut into small pieces and mix well.
 
 

 
 When the ganache is homogeneous, pour it on the crunch and put the cake back in the fridge.
 
 

 
 

Strawberries :  

300g strawberries
 20g sugar
 25g lemon juice
 
 Cut the strawberries into small cubes, then add the sugar and lemon juice.
 
 

 
 Let the strawberries marinate for at least 1 hour, then drain well. Keep the juice for later.
 Pour the strawberries over the ganache.
 
 

Vanilla, strawberry and lemon whipped cream :

 340g full cream
 135g mascarpone
 50g powdered sugar
 1 vanilla pod
 70g strawberry-lemon juice
 
 Whip the cream with the mascarpone, powdered sugar and vanilla seeds.
               
 

 
 When the whipped cream has risen, add the strawberry-lemon juice and mix to obtain a smooth whipped cream.
 
 

 
 Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on the strawberries, then put the rest in a piping bag fitted with a 18mm plain tip, and pipe the whipped cream onto the cake.
 
 

 

 
 To pipe the same way I did, pipe a row of whipped cream balls, then crush each ball with the back of a small spoon before piping a new row. Set the cake aside in the refrigerator while you prepare the icing.
 
 

Chocolate hazelnut icing :

 50g azelia chocolate
 40g chopped hazelnuts
 
 Gently melt the chocolate in a double boiler, then add the chopped hazelnuts.
 
 

 
 Use a brush to spread the icing around the cake and let it crystallize.
 
 

 
 Decorate with some strawberries and chocolate decorations if you like, then enjoy!