It was kind of pre-monsoon day when we get to see ‘all dark’ sky but can’t feel a single droplet. I was a bit bored at home but not in mood to go out (was expecting the rain very much). Then I remembered I had a promise to keep to my fellow readers. And here I am with my Brownies baked in Egg shellsas I promised with my Kitkat Birthday Cake.
This beautiful idea is not mine at all. I got the idea from another food blog http://www.cupcakeproject.com/and so followed her intrusions to the ‘T’. The only difference is she (the creative food blogger) baked cupcakes in the eggshells and I opted for brownies instead.
Few months back when I received an order of Kitkat Cake, the client specifically mentioned she also needed cupcakes to go with the theme. As I had no idea how to make cupcakes part of a Kitkat theme cake I had to trust on our Google bro for cupcake ideas. And there I found one image from the same website in Google search and the idea itself seemed so innovative that I couldn’t resist myself from peeping in the website. And I just loved what I saw there; those tiny eggshell cupcakes were too petite and beautiful to close the page. I immediately bookmarked the page and left a note on my journal.
Later I realized as a part of a Kitkat Cake the regular vanilla/chocolate cupcakes will taste bit dull as no icing is possible on those tiny shells. So I opted for rich chocolaty brownie which itself has very rich chocolate flavor and dark color to keep kids attracted. And the best part is no icing is needed at all.
The basic recipe is very easy and simple which can be done in just three steps. But the important thing is to get the eggshells done neatly. It’s not a big deal but it definitely demands a lot of patience and calmness. You can wash and clean an eggshell. Aren’t you? Just do it carefully without making any cracks on the shell. That’s all you need to get it done right. So pick up the eggs, bake brownies inside the shells and keep it in the egg stand on your breakfast table. Just wait and watch the surprised expressions on your family’s faces.
Here is the detailed recipe of Brownies baked in Egg shells with step by step picture guidance for you all.
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking/Active Time: 30 mins
Resting/Inactive time: 00 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients:
For the Chocolate Brownie:
All-purpose flour: 125g (1¼ cup)
Dark cocoa powder: 3 tbsp
Powdered brown sugar: 200g (1 cup)
Dark chocolate: 200g, chopped roughly
Butter or margarine: 125g
Egg: 3, free range
Others:
Egg shells: 16-20 (depending on the size)
Oil: 2 tbsp (for greasing), optional
Equipment:
Aluminium foil,
Kitchen towels,
Sieve
Whisk
Spatulas
Piping bag or Ziploc bag
Electric beater
Large mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl
Cupcake molds
Cupcake molds
Preparation:
Before starting the prep work, one should keep one thing in mind that this is a delicious cake with quite a lengthy and tricky process. So one has to be patient and organized; otherwise entire hard work will end up in a big fat mess. And also make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (unless mentioned) and measured correctly in appropriate measuring instruments.
First arrange all eggs in a line on kitchen counter. Make sure to keep two large bowls handy. Take one egg at a time and make a tiny crack on the top/bottom of eggshell by using screwdriver or cork opener or anything which has sharp pointed tip. Carefully remove the cracked shells to make a tiny hole. Make sure the hole is enough to pass the content of the egg. (See Tips)
Now carefully empty the content in a large bowl. Be careful not to make any more cracks on the surface of the eggshell. Keep the empty eggshell separately without cracking/breaking it. Follow the same with rest of the eggs.
You will need only 3 whole eggs (3 egg whites + 3 egg yolks) for this recipe. You can use rest of the eggs in any other recipes or according to your need. (See Tips)
Take another large bowls filled with heavy dosed salted (4-6 tsp/liter) warm water and put the empty eggshells in it. Fill the eggshells with the water to avoid floating on top. Keep aside for 10-15 mins. Do in batches if necessary. (See Tips)
Discard the salted water and clean each and every shell carefully under running water. Lay them on a kitchen towel with the hole side down for another 10-15 mins or until shells are no longer wet. (See Tips)
Grease each shell with 1-2 drops of oil. Spay/add oil through the hole and rotate the shell to grease the inner side neatly. Again arrange the shells on kitchen towel, hole side down to discard excess oil. Arrange foil in cupcake molds and place one eggshell in each mold. If you are not comfortable to use eggshells use any oval/egg shaped molds. In that case you need to dust the molds lightly. (See Tips)
Now prepare the brownie batter. As I already have detailed Chocolate Brownie recipe on the blog, I’m stating the steps in short.
Sieve and shift all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder & fine powdered sugar) in a large bowl and mix. Soften butter in a large microwave safe bowl, mix chocolate in it with a whisk until chocolate dissolves completely. Add one egg at a time in butter-chocolate mixture and keep whisking. Finally add dry ingredients in the wet ingredients slowly and fold gently until there is no trace of dry ingredients visible. (See Tips)
Now pour the brownie batter in an icing cone or any firm plastic bag and cut the tip off. Be extra cautious while piping brownie batter in eggshells as it probably the most crucial moment of the recipe. Try to fill 3/4th of the eggshells with batter. If you underfill, brownies won’t get full egg shape on other hand if you overfill, the batter will overflow while baking. (See Tips)
Carefully slide the cupcake molds with eggshells in the preheated (1800C) oven and bake for 15-20 mins at 1800C, depending on your oven. I used to middle rack for baking. Once done allow to cool down the brownies inside the oven and remove the brownie filled eggshells from cupcake molds later. Thus shells won’t get cracks due to the temperature variations. (See Tips)
Brownies in Egg shellsare ready to serve. Serve immediately if possible as brownies taste best when it’s warm. I love my brownies warm with a scoop of ice cream or dash of chocolate sauce so I often save it for dessert. Or sometimes for a lighter mood I eat these Eggshell Brownies with my evening coffee.
Excess brownies can be stored in airtight container. Taste will be good upto 3-5 days at room temperature. For longer storage they can be refrigerate upto 14 days.
This recipe is adapted from http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/04/easter-cupcakes-baked-in-real-egg.html
Tips:
1. It is always better to buy few extra eggs as you can expect to have few broken ones though I’m sure you won’t need any.
2. If you don’t need the eggs immediately, don’t worry about the wastage, you can keep the eggs for a day or so fresh for later use. Just make sure to separate the yolks and whites and keep them in different bowls; cover the bowls with cling film and refrigerate. My eggs were good for next 2 days.
3. Make sure your bowl is large enough to fit the eggshells.
4. Shells can be kept this way over night to dry up.
5. The foil filled cupcake molds will keep the shells steady in place.
6. Whenever baking chocolate cake or dark colored cake, never make the mistake of dusting the cake pan/tin with all-purpose flour/white flour. Instead opt for cocoa powder. It will keep the neat dark look intact without any white spot.
7. Always use brown sugar for chocolate cake. It provides super rich texture and dark color to the cake.
8. Any bottle with thin nozzle will also work fine with it; in fact I think that will work better as you don’t have to make larger holes in the eggshells then.
9. Brownies can overflow and ooze out from the shell while baking if you overfill the shells with batter. No need to panic; let it bake the way it is going. Later after removing the shells from the oven remove excess brownies from the shell/top while it is still warm and wipe the shells with damp kitchen tpwel. Use heat proof gloves if needed. But once they are cold/room temperature it will turn hard and it won’t be easy to remove then.
Enjoy the Treat!!!
Here are some other Brownies for you (click on the name/link for the recipes).
Snickers Brownies RedVelvet Brownies 3Chocolate Walnut Brownies
That is so awesome!!! I'm trying to figure out how I can get the supplies this week to do this before Easter lol. Great idea!! Love your pictures too!!
excellent
You have beautiful pics of this creative Easter Treat! I look forward to making this recipe and would love to share this on our website, dessertsbyjuliette.com.
Oh my gosh! It’s the most inspiring and beautiful thing I’ve seen in a long time!