Cherry Brownie Pastries

Decadent rich pastries. Don’t be fooled by their appearance, they’re quite heavy, so make small sized portions. All of the components have been described briefly here, but you can look up their separate recipes for a more detailed instruction.

Ingredients:

For the brownies:

  • 150gr soft butter
  • 150gr bitter chocolate, 80% or more
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 120gr sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 90gr flour
  • pinch of salt

For the cherry mascarpone:

  • 150gr mascarpone
  • 50gr heavy cream
  • 250gr cherries

For the chocolate glaze:

  • 100gr sugar
  • 50gr cacao
  • 115ml water
  • 80gr double cream (30-35% fat)
  • 5 gelatin sheets

For the hazelnut ganache:

  • 150gr dark chocolate
  • 150gr heavy cream
  • 100gr hazelnuts

Makes 12 individual cakes

Recipe:

Make the brownies:
Line a 25cm square baking tin with parchment paper, all the way to the top.
Melt the butter and chocolate together.
Cream together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, salt and nuts.
Mix the somewhat cooled chocolate-butter mixture in with the fluffy egg-mixture until combined well, then mix in the flour and nuts. Spread the batter out in the baking tin.
Bake for 13-15 minutes on 180°C.
Test the brownies, they should not be liquid, but the inside should be gooey and stick to the wooden skewer you stick in.

Make the cherry mascarpone:
If using canned cherries: drain them and slice each in half.
If using fresh cherries, pit them, quarter them and cook them on a soft flame for 5 minutes or until no more liquid comes out.
Beat together the mascarpone and cream until thick. Stir in the cherries and divide the mousse over the moulds – I use shallow silicone savarins which allow for easy removal. This doesn’t make a lot of mousse but you don’t want too much mousse per portion, it’s quite heavy.

Make the glaze:
Soak the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes.
Combine the sugar, cacao powder and water in a thick based sauce pan. Stir gently with a whisk, adding the cream.
Bring the mixture to the boil and leave to simmer for 3 minutes while stirring.
Take the pan off the heat. Squeeze the gelatin and stir it into the chocolate liquid.
Leave to cool to 35°C before using.

Make the hazelnut ganache:
Chop the hazelnuts. Toast them in a dry frying pan. Pour the hazelnuts on a plate and leave to cool.
Heat the cream until boiling point and pour it over the chocolate, then stir slowly to combine and melt the chocolate.
Stir the cold hazelnuts into the ganache.

Pull the sides of the brownies through the ganache. Leave to set on wire rack.

Finish the entremets:
Pop the frozen mousse out of their moulds. Place them on a wire rack.
Pour the cooled glaze over the domes.
With two palette knives, slice away the domes from the rack and place them on the brownie bases. Decorate with cream and fresh cherries.