Brownie Strawberry Skewers with Chocolate Sauce

This is one fun recipe for kids and adults alike, no olive oil in this cake batter but lots of good chocolate. And with the addition of sweet strawberries, this is one treat that everyone seems to enjoy. It is quite simple to prepare, you start off by baking your favorite brownie recipe, then you hull some strawberries - how many you will need, depends on the number of skewers you want to prepare and on the size of the fruit, of course. The rule of thumb would be three medium sized strawberries per skewer.

While I am quite aware that everybody has her/his favorite recipe for brownies,  following is the recipe that I use for these skewers. Just bake the brownie batter for an extra minute or two. The brownies will hold their shape better when you thread them onto the skewers.

Fat Witch Brownies
(Adapted from "Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery" by P. Helding & B. Levin,  pages 26-27)

Ingredients for the Brownies

1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp bittersweet chocolate chopped (I use 70 % Lindt Excellence)
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
4 large eggs, room temp (use organic or free range whenever possible)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or one package pure vanilla sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp AP flour
a pinch of fine sea salt

You will also need:
A 9` x 9` square baking pan
Fresh strawberries (you could also use different fruit)
Your favorite chocolate sauce

1. Grease and flour your baking pan. I always line my baking pans with unbleached parchment paper.
2. Melt the butter and the chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.
3. Cream the sugar, the eggs and the vanilla together.
4. Then add the cooled chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix until blended.
5. Sift together the flour and the salt and then stir into the chocolate mixture. With a spatula, mix the batter gently until it is well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains.
6. Spread batter evenly in the prepared baking pan and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and the brownies are firm enough that they can hold their shape well after they have cooled.
7. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool on a rack for at least one hour.
8. Cut the brownies according to how big or small you want your pieces for the skewers.

Then all that is left to do is to wash and hull your strawberries and prepare your favorite chocolate sauce. Once that is done, you thread three strawberries and two pieces of brownie onto each skewer. You can serve as many or as few  skewers as you want. Plate them, drizzle the chocolate sauce over and serve with the remaining chocolate sauce on the side – and, for the adults, do not for forget to ask your favorite barista to prepare an espresso macchiato for you (favorite brand of espresso coffee for me is “Ionia”, hands down).

Enjoy!