If you think you can't make something absolutely delicious with just three ingredients, think again.
A big bottle of Nutella had been sitting in our fridge for a while now. While my 10-year old self will devour that bottle every chance she gets, my 24-year old self isn't that keen on snacking on this hazelnut spread anymore. I don't know why but eating Nutella alone isn't appealing to me anymore! I have to put it on something else, like bread, banana, or pancakes. Eating it by spoonfuls, I'd always think "Is this really worth the calories?" or I'd remember this quote said by Raj Koothrappali from The Big Bang Theory: "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips". So I thought of turning it to a baked good instead of letting it go bad.
With some browsing on food blogs, I found out I can easily whip out something made out of Nutella! Behold, the Nutella Brownies. Now I know you're wondering: why am I getting so excited? It's just brownies, right? Well, yes, these are just brownies but they're made with just 3 ingredients, probably things that are already in your pantry! What makes me even more exciting is that fact that it tastes SO. DARN. GOOD. Seriously. It's chocolatey and fudgy and surprisingly, not overly sweet. It's a good brownie base, a nice alternative to cocoa powder and melted chocolate.
So without further ado, here's what you'll need.
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon cake flour*
2 eggs, room temp
*you can also use all purpose flour, just make it 2 Tablespoons instead of 1.
>line your baking tray (i used an 8"-ish baking pan with this) with parchment paper.
>combine all three ingredients in a bowl. Mix until combined. You'll end up with a very thick and very sticky batter.
>transfer batter to the baking pan. Be patient with smoothing and spreading the batter to all four corners. It will be hard and messy but you'll get there.
>if you have toppings, now's the time to sprinkle them. Nuts, choco chips, anything that tickles your fancy. Just coat them a little with flour so they don't sink to the bottom as they bake. Also, don't go overboard with the sprinkles or the brownies won't rise that much.
>bake at 350F (or 180C) for about 20-25 minutes. Mine took about 25 minutes since it was still wet and batter-y on the 20-minute mark. As always, baking time will depend on what oven you're using.
>let cool before slicing.
Keep in mind that this won't rise that much because it doesn't have any rising agent in it. But the end product will be a bit fudgy, a bit chewy gooey, and oh so Nutelly. If you prefer your brownies to have a more cake-like, crumbly-ish consistency, I read in a blog that you can add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to the batter. These are also great in the fridge. They don't become crumbly or soggy or rock hard.
And there you have it. A quick fix if you want brownies and Nutella in one. This will be amazing on its own, with coffee, or with a big scoop of coffee ice cream. Now this pan of goodness is worth the calories. Heehee.