Fudgy Brownies Pop

Finally I made this - supposedly Valentine's Day gift for Abby and Ian, but delayed for a week cos of my health issue last week :)

I fell in love with these pops when I saw them in Foodbuzz somewhere in early February
They're so pretty and cute!
When Abby saw the pictures, she said, I want those lollipops, mummy! :)

This is how to make them:

ready to eat fudgy brownies - cooled
heart shaped cookie cutter
dark chocolate cooking bar or candy melts
decorative sprinkles
lollipop sticks
styrofoam block

Crumble brownies in a large bowl using hands, shape into heart shaped cookie cutter, place on lined baking pan
Melt chocolate or candy melts according to instruction
Dip the sticks into the melted chocolate and gently insert the stick into each of the heart shaped brownie
Place them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden
Place the remaining of the melted chocolate in a narrow bowl or cup
Dip each brownie pop into melted chocolate, gently tap on the side to remove excess chocolate
Place each pop standing upright onto styrofoam block and let them dry completely
(this is a challenge in hot and humid Singapore weather - I placed them in an aircon room)
If using sprinkles, do immediately after dipping
I used pink color icing pen to draw on the pop

Besides heart shape, I did round shape too cos Ian kept on telling me that lollipops are round! LOL

Honestly, to make these pops is not easy at all, at least for me, whom always sucks in decorating my baking hehe... But it's all worth it when looking at the expression in my kids face...wow, mummy! You made lollipop cakes!!! :P

Okay now, about the brownies for the pops....

I wanted to use my usual recipe for the brownies but then I saw this recipe from Baking Library, and decided to give it a try - the brownies looked so sinfully rich and fudgy, my kind of brownies :)
Indeed it is!!!
It's so fudgy that I didn't need to add any additional frosting to mould them into heart shape - make my job easier :)

What you need:

To make the brownies:
185g dark chocolate (I use 70%) - melted and cooled
110g unsalted butter - softened
220g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g eggs (I use 4 large eggs)
75g plain flour
50g cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 180degC
Cream butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3-5 minutes. As there is a larger proportion of sugar to butter, the mixture will not end up being fluffy
Slowly add in eggs by the tablespoon to the creamed butter, beating the mixture well before incorporating the next tablespoon
Beat in melted chocolate and mix well. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often to ensure even mixing
Stir in the dry ingredients with a spatula or wooden spoon to get a smooth batter
I used 22cm square pan, pour the batter onto the pan and level the surface. Bake for around 20 minutes at 180 degrees C. The top should be crusty and dull. When lightly pressed on the surface, the underneath feels semi-firm. Cool baked brownie in tin for 45mins before removing to cool on wire rack

This was the brownies before the make over - yum!!!

I am submitting these cute little pops to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this LINK