This may be my new favourite brownie. Oh man, it was so good. To those who are unfamailiar with Kinder Eggs (mainly Americans) they are hollow chocolate eggs, with milk chocolate on the outside and white chocolate on the inside. But what makes them really special, and so sought after by children, is that hidden within the delicious chocolate lies a little plastic capsule with a toy inside. When I was a kid getting a Kinder Egg was so much fun. Whenever my grandmother would take me out, whether to the mall or to get lunch, or just stopping at the gas station, I knew I would likely be walking away with a pack of orange Tic-Tacs (they're not orange anymore) and a Kinder Surprise. I loved those little trips :). To this day, I love Kinder chocolate (I really do) and though I rarely buy them for myself, I am excited to see them in my stocking at Christmas, or my basket at Easter (I know, I'm a child :)).

Now the toys were never anything super special or complicated, but it was still exciting to discover what was inside. I remember Smurfs, and Yogis, maybe even some from the Disney camp (though my memory is a bit foggy). Nowadays the toys don't have licenses and for a while were pretty terrible. There was a brief period in the oughts where every other Kinder you opened provided you some type of garbage jigsaw puzzle or cheap magic trick. Terrible. Recently it seems Kinder (owned by Ferrero) has put out a mandate calling for better toys. This is good news, there are only so many times you can get excited about a mini pack of memory cards (for the record, the number of times is zero).

Unfortunately if you live in the U.S. Kinder Surprise Eggs are contraband. Should you try and cross the border with such hazerdous materials, you will find your confections confiscated, and may even face hefty fines. I imagine border patrol guards anxiously awaiting the Easter and Christmas seasons and the seizure of so much delicious chocolate. Only to have them go missing a few hours later :).

All this is just an aside though, the reason I decided to make a Kinder brownie is not because I love Kinder chocolate so much, which I do, but because I had so incredibly much of it over the Christmas holidays. You see I have some wonderful friends. One of these friends has a wonderful fiance (probably too good for him -- I kid, I kid :)); and she is able to procure mass quantities of Ferrero products (fret not, it's all legit). Some of these fine products made their way into Christmas gift bags for my family and myself. And these bags were packed to the brim with Ferrero goodness. Peaking out of my bag was a giant Kinder Egg Surprise, and part of my parents' bag was a set of Kinder ornaments. Though I could easily eat it all, I knew that was probably a bad idea. It dawned on me that the chocolate might make an terrific brownie. And a terrific brownie it did make.

My toy :)

I wanted the brownie to not only be fudgy but to also balance the sweetness of the chocolate since it's both milk and white chocolate. I used a very restrained amount of white sugar, and as little flour as possible. I didn't follow any specific recipe, but my inspiration lies with Anna's milk chocolate brownies and my banana brownies.

The brownie batter and the brownie itself after baking was surprisingly light in colour, no doubt due to the white chocolate. It had that wonderfully crackly top that brownie bakers long for. Not to mention it smelled like heaven and tasted even better. It was so dangerously fudgy, so creamy, and on the first day as it retained its crackly top, the texture variance was terrific. It tasted like a Kinder egg, but just not as sweet, and not only creamy in texture, but creamy in flavour too, just like the chocolate. And with it not being as sweet as the chocolate, I found it much easier to eat a lot more. Without the use of restraints, you might be diving for the pan.

These brownies were so good. Ridiculously good. I honestly think they might be my new favourite. And one of the great things about them is that I can't make them all the time. You need a signficant amount of kinder chocolate in order to make it, and Kinder ain't cheap. A large Kinder Egg will run you ten bucks if it's not on clearance, and you're gonna need one and a half. So this is only for special occasions, or if you really want to treat yourself. And I suggest you do, at least once. And for you Americans, this is a great way to sneak some Kinder over the border without raising suspicion. But..uhm... you're gonna have to find another place to hide the toy :).

~Adam

Kinder Surprise Brownies

Inspired by Cookie Madness and these Banana Brownie

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (65g)
1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
8oz Kinder Surprise Chocolate (227g) -- this is the hollow chocolates
1/2 cup unsalted butter (113g)
1/2 cup sugar (100g)
2 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325F and line an 8 inch square pan with foil and lightly grease.

In a small bowl add flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

Place a medium heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Add chocolate and butter and heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

When the chocolate is luke warm, add sugar and stir until completely combined. Add eggs one at a time, stirring until combined.

Add dry ingredients to chocolate mixture and stir until no streaks of flour remain.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs (this took me 27 minutes). Remember: a slightly underdone brownie is better than a slightly overdone brownie :).

Allow to cool completely in pan.