Upside Down Valentines Brownie Tart

Upside Down Valentines Brownie Tart

Welcome back to upside down cooking and we’re celebrating Valentines Day with a squidgy berry brownie.

I’m layering heart-shaped sprinkles, chocolate and berries into a heart-shape drizzled with honey and then I’m making a classic brownie mix into which I stir more berries and this gets dolloped onto the baking tray and formed into a heart shape.

I then cut out a heart from a sheet of puff pastry and drape it lovingly over the chocolate.  A quick brush with egg wash and it goes into a hot oven until gloriously golden.

We then flip it over as we pray to the memories of our childhood sweethearts and that first sloppy snog behind the bike shed, to reveal the upside down, brownie heart of Valentines Dreams!

The recipe can be found on my blog DomInTheKitchen.com – Link in bio

• 320g (11oz) sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry, roughly 35 x 23cm
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 sprinkling of miniature candy hearts
• 50g chocolate – chopped (or use drops)
• 100g mixed berries (I used raspberries and blueberries)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Nutella and whipped cream to serve

For the brownie:

• 60g (2oz) lightly salted butter
• 60g (2oz) good-quality 70% plain chocolate, broken into squares
• 1 large egg
• 100g (3½oz) golden caster sugar
• 40g (1½oz) plain flour, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp cocoa powder, sifted

YOU WILL NEED

• large baking tray, roughly 43 x 30cm (17 x 12in), lined with baking parchment
• 1 heart-shaped template that is the same width as your pastry sheet (smaller than your baking tray)

Serves 6

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan/425°F/Gas 7). Remove the pastry from the fridge and set aside.

Lay the heart template onto the baking parchment and draw around it with a pencil. Place it drawn-side down on the baking tray. Drizzle the heart shape with honey and sprinkle over the candy hearts and chocolate and half the mixed berries, ensuring you leave a 2cm boarder around the inside of the heart-shape.

To make the brownie, gently melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over a very low heat, stirring regularly. Take the pan off the heat before the chocolate fully melts and stir occasionally until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat the egg and sugar with an electric hand whisk for about 6 minutes, until doubled in volume, and pale, light and airy. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture until fully combined, then fold in the flour, salt and cocoa powder. Stir in the remaining mixed berries.

Once combined, carefully spoon the brownie mix over the berries on the lined baking tray in a heart shape, again with a boarder. It is quite a thick cake batter and shouldn’t run too much.

Roll out the puff pastry and using the same heart template, cut out a heart shape with a knife. Lay it over the top of the brownie mixture. Using the back of a fork, press indentations around the edge of the pastry to seal. Score the top in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife and then brush with egg.

Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the pastry is wonderfully golden and puffy. Remove from the oven and allow the pie to sit on the tray for 5 minutes. Lay a piece of baking parchment on top, followed by a chopping board or plate, and carefully flip the pie over. Peel off the backing paper and leave the pie to cool before drizzling with Nutella.  Serve with whipped cream and more heart-shaped sprinkles.

For more upside down recipes, check out my book, Upside Down Cooking

Eat and of course, enjoy!