Brownie pie filled with nutella

Difficulty 2/5

We all need a chocolate hug every once in a while, and I think this is really the ultimate comfort dessert. I’ve made it for birthday parties, family meetings and several other gatherings, and every single time I get a “can I have another piece” reaction. The slightly salty crust mixed with the fudgy brownie and the nutella filling makes for an incredible flavour. The only thing that takes a bit of time is the crust, but believe me it’s worth it because it’s super buttery and crunchy. If you’re in a hurry though, you can buy a pre-made one. You can also cook the brownie on its own, it’s an amazing recipe.

Portions: 32cm pie dish, around 10-12 slices

Ingredients:
For the crust:
– 200g all purpose flour
– 150g unsalted butter at room temperature
– 50g sugar
– 1 egg
– 2 tsp salt

For the brownie:
– 190g all purpose flour
– 1 tsp salt
– 90g unsweetened cocoa powder
– 4 eggs
– 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
– 250g sugar
– 240ml vegetable oil
– 4 tbsp honey

Also: 200g Nutella

Procedure:
1. Let’s start with the crust. Using a whisk, mix the butter that should be soft at room temperature with the sugar until it’s very creamy. Then add the egg, vanilla, salt and mix again until it’s homogeneous. Finally add the flour and mix with a spatula this time.
2. At this point the dough is very soft, so we wrap it in cling film and flatten it and it goes into the fridge (not freezer) for about 30min or until you touch it and feel that you can now roll it out.
3. Using a rolling pin, stretch the dough dusting flour on the table and on top as well until it reaches 3mm thick.  This dough, because of the butter, is super delicate, so every time you roll it, make sure it’s not sticking and add more flour if necessary. Then lift the dough by gently rolling it on the rolling pin and putting it on the mould. Lift the sides so that the dough drops into the corners of the mould, allowing it to have a nice corner when you cut it. Also press gently against the walls of the moulds so that the dough gets the nice shape of the mould. Cut the excess dough by rolling the rolling pin over the top of the mould and then press the sides again to make sure they’re still in place.
4. Now we’re going to blind bake. Blind baking serves the purpose of making the dough not contract in the oven. For this, we need some weight inside to prevent it from contracting. They cell ceramic pellets specifically for this purpose, but truth is you can use any type of raw legume for this; whatever you have at home. The only thing you need to consider is that these legumes will not cook well after this, so store them in an air-tight container and label it for only baking, because you can use them over and over again. Stick 3 layers of cling film together and put it inside the mould, then fill it in with whatever you’re using for weight. Make sure it gets filled all the way to the top or the edges will contract towards the inside.
5. The dough goes into the oven at 180C for 10-15min or until you see that the edges are golden. Then pop it in for another 10min or until you see that it’s golden all over.
6. Now the easy part: let’s make the brownie. Mix the oil and sugar with a whisk, then add the eggs, honey, vanilla, salt and mix. At the end we add the cocoa powder and finish mixing in the flour with a spatula.
7. Put half the bownie mix inside the crust we baked previously. On top of that goes the Nutella, which I recommend you warm up 20secs in the microwave before just so it’s easier to work with. On top of this layer goes the rest of the brownie mix and it goes into the oven at 160C (be aware that it’s lower than for the crust) for 40min-1 hour until a knife comes out clean. There will still be Nutella on the knife, just make sure it doesn’t have any raw dough on it.
8. Let it cool down and finish with icing sugar. I like to leave marks on it with the sugar, so get creative and use what you have at hand to make them. I used 3 handles to make the lines. You can even use paper cut-outs.

Done! Make it and I promise that you’re going to bring joy to anyone who eats it. Don’t forget to follow the blog on YouTube (we have a channel!), Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook and comment what other dish you would like to see me make.