Brownie Easter Nests
My Brownie Easter Nests are for the love of everything that is chocolate and Easter isn’t Easter without chocolate. These are individual portions and easy to use for decorating your holiday table or to bring to family, friends or neighbours. You can get creative with the decorating and the kids will love to help. Happy Easter!!
Why the tradition of Easter Eggs?
A good read: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/easter-symbols
I don’t do a lot of Easter baking; I leave the traditional Easter Bread and all the Italian goodies to my mother to make. She is the master of this. I take the easy way out by making my Brownie Easter Nests.
Love of Chocolate
My nonna Emilia loved all kinds of chocolate. She spent the last part of her 90th year in a hospital and we would take her lunch and supper. Sometimes when I took her lunch, I would let her eat the chocolate first. I think of her often and that is why I am baking a chocolate Easter dessert over the traditional Easter bread to share with my family and friends.
To make a really good brownie dough, you have to start with real chocolate and butter. Slowly melt everything and don’t burn it, be patient. 
The eggs and sugar meet each other.
The velvety consistency of chocolate and butter.
Let the melted chocolate cool and then add it to the sugar and eggs.
Then add the dry ingredients and stir everything together.
Chop the chocolate and add in. Do not over-mix.
Fill the liners 2/3 full. 
You want the tops to crack!!
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The perfect cupcake: it will sink a bit when it settles and make a natural nest for your icing and eggs.
All dressed up for Easter.
Brownie Easter Nests
More chocolate is good.
Ingredients
The cupcakes
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extracts
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cake and pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 5 squares chopped dark chocolate with nuts 1/2 cup
The Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 12 chocolate eggs
- 2 tbsp colourful confetti decorations or swirl in food colouring
Icing: see recipe notes
Instructions
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Set your oven to 375 F.
In a bowl over medium heat, place butter and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. As soon as the mixture melts, remove from heat and let cool.
Beat eggs, vanilla and sugar until frothy.
Stir in the melted chocolate.
Combine the flour and baking powder and stir into the wet ingredients.
Stir in the chopped chocolate.
Pour batter prepared muffin tin with liners.
Bake for 15 minutes. I usually check at about 13 minutes. It's always better to undercook a brownie or it loses that moist texture.
Remove from oven and let cool. After 15 minutes remove to a wire rack.
I like to remove the liners before I frost.
Recipe Notes
To swirl in food colouring: place drops of different food colouring on a plate. Use a toothpick and pick and dunk into food colouring and swirl through icing.
I used a cream cheese icing. I like this one https://recipesatmytable.com/love-in-a-cupcake/
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