STRAWBERRY CURD BROWNIE BITES WITH MERINGUE
Summer is here! It means a lot of fresh produce to play around with. I get completely drawn to the colors, textures, and sweetness of the fruit, which are all so visually appealing at the farmer’s market! It is all eye candy for me!
Strawberries are the sweetest in this season. I buy strawberries and actually a lot of my produce from this one vendor at the farmer’s market called Ledesma Farms. They have organic produce, and not once I have had any bad experience with them. I have actually been going to them for years now, and they know me well and sometimes charge me less as well because of the amount that I buy from them!
I even get my eggs from them. They sell them for $7 for a dozen, and it is so worth it! The bright yellow yolks are unlike what you get from the grocery store.
These strawberries are just SO SWEET, like candy! I make all my jams from those perfect red jewels – and you can taste the difference, when compared to what you get at the grocery store. I love giving jams to family and friends, and they appreciate how fruity and delicious they are! Once they try my jams, they get addicted and do not want to purchase from the grocery store.
Talking about strawberries, I love making strawberry desserts, this time of the year! I love partnering with my favorite flour company Bob’s Red Mill. They always have the most pristine, excellent quality products that you can NEVER go wrong with!
I came up with this recipe that had been brewing in my mind for quite some time now. Chocolate and Strawberry are a match made in heaven, don’t you think so?! So I came up with Strawberry Curd Brownie Bites, with an Italian Meringue on the top.
HOW TO MAKE THE STRAWBERRY CURD:
I first make the strawberry curd, which is really easy to put together. Strawberry Curd essentially has:
- Fresh strawberries pureed, and strained to remove any seeds
- Granulated sugar
- Egg yolks
- Whole eggs
- Lemon juice
- Unsalted butter
It comes together very easily! You simply cook all the ingredients, except the butter, for about 6 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Then you strain the mixture to remove any residue, and add the butter, mix it till the curd looks cohesive. And place in the fridge for upto two weeks! The curd is super delicious and you can even simply put it on toast and have it. SO GOOD! Or sandwich it between cookies!
CHOCOLATE BROWNIE:
The base is a pure chocolate brownie, made with Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour and Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour – both products that I use extensively in my baking. I can never get enough of both these products!
The recipe has cocoa powder, vanilla extract, eggs, granulated sugar and light brown sugar. The mixture is a one bowl recipe and comes together within minutes!
ASSEMBLY:
I bake the brownies with the strawberry curd in these 9×9 silicone pans, so that I can get individual brownie bites. I am a sucker for mini bite size desserts. I feel they always make it fun for a get together, and you get your own individual portion to enjoy! These pans are super easy to use. You do not require any baking spray, and the brownies come out quite easily.
I add the brownie batter to each cavity, even out the layer with an offset spatula, and bake in an oven for 10 minutes. You will see that there is a crust that is formed on the top, and that is what you want.
Then I add 2 teaspoons of the strawberry curd in each cavity, even out the layer and bake for another 10 minutes. They will puff up in the oven, and even out when completely cooled.
They need to be cooled outside for an hour, and then in the fridge for atleast 2 hours or more, so that they set nicely. Once set, they come out of the pan with ease. Remove them from the pan when you are ready to decorate them.
ITALIAN MERINGUE AND DECORATION:
Italian meringue sounds intimidating doesn’t it??! It did to me as well, and then I took the plunge and then I found out HOW SIMPLE IT IS!
You basically start whisking the egg whites first until there are soft peaks, almost cloud like! AND NEVER THROW AWAY the egg yolks! You can make custard, ice cream, curd – the uses are endless! Then you start boiling your granulated sugar and water, and boil the mixture till the temperature reaches 240 degrees F.
Pour the hot sugar mixture(be careful!) into the egg whites and whisk until you get soft yet stiff peaks. Your meringue is ready! IT IS THAT easy!
I did put a tinge of pink in the meringue, because well – it’s pink! And I piped the cute brownie bites with the meringue.
Next I toasted the meringue with a blow torch – SO FUN! And next I put sprinkles, because sprinkles make everything festive! Then came a cute bright red strawberry on each brownie bite. I cannot get enough of how cute these are and how delicious they taste!
My kids cannot get enough of these brownie bites. I have leftover curd and I will be making it again!
I hope you get to try making these cute brownie bites too. IF you do not want to make the meringue, decorate it with whipped cream or simply do not put anything on the top!
I highly recommend that you decorate the brownie bites, the day of serving them, for maximum freshness of the meringue and the decorations!
If you do make these bites, please do not forget to tag me #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave me a comment on this blog post!
Have a fantastic July!
XO
Amisha
Ingredients
- (Makes about 15 2x2 Brownies)
- Strawberry Curd:
- (Makes 2 8 oz jars)
- 1 pound strawberries, washed, hulled and cut into quarters
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- Brownie Layer:
- ½ cup (65g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (50g) almond flour
- ¾ cup (65g) dutch cocoa powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 tbsp (1 stick; 113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (80g) light brown sugar
- 2 whole eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Italian Meringue:
- 50g egg white, at room temperature (about 2 eggs)
- ⅛ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- Pink food gel
- 9 cavity 2x2 inch brownie silicone pan[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BQP8Y4Y/ref=dp_iou_view_item?ie=UTF8&psc=1]
- 2 tbsp scoop
- Small offset spatula
- 12 inch pastry bag
- ¼ inch french star tip
- Decoration:
- Blow Torch
- Sprinkles
- Half cut small strawberries
Instructions
- Strawberry Curd:
- In a high speed blender, blend the strawberries until completely pureed
- Strain the mixture to remove all the seeds
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, add the pureed strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, whole eggs, and egg yolks. Whisk until completely blended.
- Gently stir the mixture and cook it for 6 to 7 minutes. You will see the mixture start the bubble and get thicker. Put in a wooden spatula, if you are able to run a finger through the middle of the spatula and get a clean swipe, the curd is done.
- Switch off the stove, and strain the mixture again into a clean bowl.
- Add the butter, and keep stirring until completely melted, and the curd looks cohesive.
- Place a plastic wrap such that it is touching the curd.
- Place in the fridge to cool for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.
- Brownie Layer:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, add the all purpose flour, almond flour, dutch cocoa powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In another medium to large bowl, add the sugars and butter, and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla extract and eggs, and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
- In the brownie pan, add 2 tbsp of the brownie batter in all the cavities. It will fill up about 15 cavities.
- Place on a baking tray. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter to level it out in all the cavities.
- Bake in the lower middle rack of the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Add 2 tsp of the strawberry curd in each cavity gently and level with the teaspoon to even out the layer.
- Bake for about 10 minutes to set the curd.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely for an hour.
- Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours.
- Italian Meringue:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Start whisking at slow, gradually increasing the speed to high, until soft peaks form. It will take about 3-4 minutes. When you lift the whisk, it should look like clouds and the egg whites should not fall off the whisk. You can turn the stand mixer off, once it has reached stiff peaks.
- In a small saucepan, on medium to high heat, add the sugar and water. Whisk with a rubber spatula to combine. Heat the mixture for 2 minutes, it will start bubbling. Using a candy thermometer, measure the temperature. It should reach 240 degrees F. It takes about 6 to 7 minutes in total to reach that temperature.
- Start the mixer again on low speed, gently pour the hot sugar mixture into the running mixer. Gently increase the speed and mix for 2 to 3 minutes, until you get soft peaks, and the mixer feels slightly cooled.
- Add the pink food gel drop or 2, and whisk again until the color is homogenous.
- Place the meringue into the pastry bag, with the french star tip.
- Seal the bag from the top with a rubber band, set aside.
- Assembly:
- Remove the brownie bites from the pan, and place them on a baking tray.
- Pipe meringue on top of each brownie.
- Blow torch them to brown the tops.
- Put sprinkles on the top.
- Finally top it off with a strawberry.
- Place them in an airtight container in the fridge, until ready to serve.
- NOTE: They will keep in the fridge for upto 2 to 3 days. Because of the strawberry curd, they need to be in the fridge for the best eating experience! They taste amazing when they are chilled.
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