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Romantic dessert for TWO!

I don’t know about you, but if there is one thing I expect to have in a romantic dessert…….. it’s CHOCOLATE! Just the smell of chocolate is intoxicating, the smooth texture delights my tongue and the entire experience is stimulating. Add your love for each other and the night gets electrified, if you know what I mean.😍

You will not believe how easy this is to make and how few ingredients you need to impress your sweetheart.

Let’s begin:

First start with a store bought brownie mix….or if you want to whip up your own, that’s fine also. I used Betty Crocker’s Dark Chocolate brownie mix. Bake as directed in a 9x13 pan (you want thinner brownies to be able to stack and fill and easier to cut out with shaped cutter.)

After your brownies are baked, let them cool completely, then get out your heart shaped cutter and choose the most even spots to cut out at least two large hearts.

You can do this next step while your brownies are cooling, just to save time if you would like:

Add your room temperature butter and 1/3 cup jam to a mixing bowl and cream at medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.

Add your powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until desired consistency in reached. You can always add a little milk or a dab more jam to thin it out if icing too thick. Also, you can add a drop of red coloring if you want a deeper shade of pink.

(Set aside icing until needed, but keep covered so it will not dry out.)

Next, lay out your brownie halves on wax paper and fill an icing bag (or a plastic sandwich bag that has corner snipped) and pipe two large outlines around outside edge of bottom heart half, then carefully spoon the very middle with some of the strawberry jam as shown:

Next, stack the other heart cutout on top of the filled brownie.

Transfer your stacked brownie cake to a wire rack with wax paper underneath (...or else you will have a major mess to clean up afterwards!)

Melt you chocolate in a microwave safe shallow bowl according to package directions, or I like to start on high for 40 seconds, then do 15-20 seconds intervals, stirring briskly after each heat time, until melted to a pouring consistency. (You may also use a double boiler or fondue pot if you have one.)

Carefully pour, or spoon melted chocolate over top of brownie cake until covered. I like a thin coverage of chocolate.

Now, if desired, dip some fresh strawberries or little brownies into the chocolate and immediately use your sprinkles, so they will stick. I used the leftover brownie scraps to make heart shaped cake pops with a silicone mold I had and cut the crispy edges into brownies fries for my husband to snack on after lunch.

Anyway…back to the heart brownie cake:

After decorating, let dry and store in an airtight container until the special time your honey comes over. Serve on an elegant, microwave safe plate. Promptly before serving, warm in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, just enough to soften the chocolate and be ooey goey on the inside. It is really similar to eating a lava cake if done correctly.

Enjoy!

💜Julie